Hunger
by CommeUnMoineau
Summary: "Jeez, Aria," Hanna laughed, trying to keep her tone lighthearted. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you actually liked Jason DiLaurentis," Jason/Aria.
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

_"I turned around_  
><em>Before I could run<em>  
><em>I found you already settled down...<em>  
><em>In the back of my mind"<em>

* * *

><p>Everything in Rosewood was topsy-turvy now.<p>

Or at least, that is what Aria surmised. The people they were supposed to be able to trust; cops, friends, _parents _even, to a certain extent, had all turned around and stabbed them in the back. And those they were supposed to shun and avoid, the Tobys and Calebs of the world, were in fact the most trustworthy of all. In Rosewood, the bad guys, of all people, were the ones you trusted the most.

Now, even her own brother had betrayed her. And no one seemed to care nor understand.

Her parents were too busy turning the tables on each other, Mike was just refusing to talk to anyone, Emily had just been in the hospital with problems of her own, Hanna was too concerned with her own parents, and Spencer...was just Spencer. Someone who refused to see the other side of the story. Just a year ago, according to her, the 'freak' of Rosewood was Toby. Now it was Jason.

"Look, guys, all I'm saying is that its _not_ normal. He's hiding something in that house, I'm sure of it," Spencer's voice chimed in, as her hands flicked through the textbook with gentle ease. "Or someone,"

"Can we not talk about this right now? I've already missed enough work as it is. I really need to study," Emily said, propped up against a pink, fluffy pillow, clutching the side of her ribcage in pain. She may have been discharged from the hospital after A's attempt at poisoning her, but she still hadn't fully recovered.

"Besides, we don't know anything for sure," Aria stated, not really focusing on her studies. "You're just jumping to conclusions, Spence,"

"But I saw someone in that house, I'm sure of it!"

"So? It could just have been a trick of the light. It doesn't _mean_ anything,"

"It doesn't _mean_ anything? Aria, can I remind you, this guy might have killed his sister, and you're saying the fact he's hiding someone in his house doesn't _mean_ anything?"

"Guys, can we _please _drop this?" Groaned Emily, but her voice was lost among the heated voices in the room.

"You don't know that! None of us know who's responsible for Ali's death. Besides, weren't you the one who just a few weeks ago was swearing it was Ian who killed Ali?"

"That's because that's what A _wanted_ us to think," Spencer cried out, quick to defend herself. "Why are you so quick to defend Jason? Remember what he was like to us when he was younger?"

"Why are you so quick to accuse him? And let's not forget what _we_ were like when we were younger," Aria's eyes remained focused on her lap. "We were the ones responsible for the Jenna incident..."

"That was an accident!" Hanna quickly pointed out, waving her pen in the air. "We never meant for that to happen,"

"So? We're still responsible...anyway, that's not my point. My point is we all did when we were younger that we regret. That doesn't mean we're bad people now, though,"

The room fell quiet for a second, the girls contemplating Aria's words. None of them spoke, until Spencer whispered quietly.

"None of us might have killed out sister though..."

"God! Look, all I'm saying is we shouldn't be so quick to judge, OK? You're the one who just last year was saying that Toby was someone who couldn't be trusted, and look what's happened now," Aria snapped, immediately looking away from Spencer as a tension settled in the room.

"Jeez, Aria," Hanna laughed, trying to keep her tone lighthearted. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you actually _liked_ Jason,"

Aria, froze for a second, eyes flickering upwards, trying to think of what to say, when Emily jumped in.

"Oh my God, you _do_ like him,"

Spencer momentarily forgot she was supposed to be offended as she turned to stare at Aria.

"Wait, what?"

"No, no, nothing like that..." Aria hurried to declare, words flying out of her mouth at the speed of light.

"You do, you do_, you do!_"

"Wait, is this after he had dinner at your house the other week?"

"Guys we really should be studying..."

"Enough!" Aria almost shouted, her voice becoming suddenly agitated. "You guys are all forgetting I _have_ a boyfriend, who I'm very happy with, thanks,"

Well, she wished that was true, but recently, things between her and Ezra had become...tense. Well, not tense per say, but it was like there was some sort of invisible obstacle had come up between the two of them in the last few weeks, a barrier, that they had yet to overcome. It was as if there were a thousand unsaid words between them, buzzing around their heads, desperate to be said but neither of them had the courage to say them or ask them.

"Oh, yes, how is Mr. Fitz with his new competition? Stepped up his game yet?" Hanna's voice took on a light, teasing tone. "Actually held your hand in public?"

"Aria, you can't be serious about this," Spencer stated, her voice still serious. "After all the thing's he's done? You like him _like that_?"

"No, I don't! And Hanna, that's _not_ helping,"

"Come on Spence, lighten up! He may be creepy, but come on, have you seen that man's abs?" That comment earned her a swift smack to the head with Emily's pillow. "Ow! I'm just saying. With Ezra, they can't even leave his apartment. That's gotta be tough,"

"So not helping, Hanna," Aria groaned. "And like I said, things between me and Ezra are totally fine,"

"Not if you like someone else, they aren't!" Spencer's agitated voice broke through. "Then they're totally _not _fine_," _

"I never even said that I liked Jason!"

"Oh, sweetie, you didn't have to, your face said everything," Hanna laughed, winking.

"Have you even spoken to Ezra about this?" Asked Emily, concerned.

"There's nothing to talk with him about, OK? You guys are just making this up in your heads," Aria huffed, throwing her textbook up in the air. "I'm not discussing this anymore!"

"Jason and Aria, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

"There clearly is something we need to discuss!" Spencer snapped, grabbing Aria's textbook. "You _like_ Jason DiLaurentis!"

"There isn't anything we need to discuss as I don't _like_ Jason DiLaurentis!" Aria yelled, snatching her textbook out of Spencer's hands. Their voices were interrupted by Aria's beeping phone, lulling the girls into a silence. "Oh, look, its my mom, apparently I have to go home now,"

"Don't you run away, Aria, we have to talk about this!" Spencer cried out. Both Emily and Hanna looked away awkwardly.

"Like I said, there's nothing to talk about," She sighed. "Look, I'll just see you guys tomorrow at school, Ok"

Both Hanna and Emily bade Aria goodnight quietly, not quite sure how to answer, while Spencer turned around and stared at Aria, a concerned look on her face.

"Look Aria, just...be careful around, Jason DiLaurentis alright?"

Aria paused momentarily, turning the knob on Spencer's bedroom door, before turning round to glance at Spencer.

"Goodnight, Spence"

And with that, she left the room and headed home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Asfslfgd I literally wrote this within half an hour. Late night insomnia is never a good thing. R&R? And the lyrics at the beginning are from Alison Krauss and the Union Station - If I didn't Know Any Better. ;)


	2. Potential

The walk back to Aria's house was a long and silent one. She repeated Spencer's words silently in her head. "_Be careful around Jason DiLaurentis_" The words sounded so ominous, hearing them again in her head, the way Spencer had paused after she had spoken, looking deep into Aria's eyes. She supposed any clever person would believe Spencer, would trust their best friend over a potential murderer. Though, that was the problem wasn't it? '_Potential_'. As far as they knew, Jason hadn't done anything wrong. Hell, he'd been nothing but nice to Aria. Especially with the whole Mike situation...he reassured her, but also gave her room to breathe, which was a rare luxury in Rosewood, where people either avoided you at all costs or they smothered you with concern, tinged with suspicion. Sometimes, a little breathing space was nice, along with genuine concern.

Silently, she crept back into the house, not making any noise as she removed her shoes and placed them softly on the carpet. Next to them were Mike's old, battered running shoes, covered in dried mud. _Probably from one of Mike's escapades_, Aria thought with a sigh. They were black, with a big red lightening bolt across the side of them, purchased little over a year ago, when Mike was deep in his 'superhero' phase. It seemed strange that something that was once so innocent was now being used to break into people's houses and steal their belongings.

It was amazing how much could change in a year.

Upon arrival in the living room, she found her mother perched nervously on the edge of one of the sofas. She jumped up immediately when she noticed Aria loitering awkwardly in the corner.

"Aria, you're home," Ella Montgomery smiled, giving her daughter a hug. "Sorry to call you away from your studies, but there's something I have to talk to you about,"

Uh oh.

Her arm around her daughter's shoulder, Ella lead them over to the couch and sat them down, tenderly resting one of her hands on her daughter's knees.

"Your father and I know you've had a difficult year, what with Alison, and the problems between me and your dad," She cleared her throat awkwardly. "And this whole situation with Mike recently has shown us just how little we've been paying attention,"

"No, mom, no, that's not your fault..."

"You know what, to a certain extent, I think it is," Ella stated softly, tucking one of Aria's strands of hair behind her ear. "And the events that have happened recently have shown me, especially, that,"

"I told you the fashion show was just some stupid prank, that didn't mean anything!" Aria jumped up nervously from the sofa, staring down at her mom. "There's nothing going on,"

"Aria, I am your mother," Ella's voice took on a more serious tone. "And I can tell when you're nervous, or scared, and quite frankly, you've been on edge for weeks. Everytime you answer your phone you shake a little, as if the thing is about to bite you. You hardly speak to any of your old friends anymore, and the look in your eyes when you saw that someone had tampered with the Alison slideshow..."

"What, mom, what?" Aria almost shouted, her voice becoming somewhat hostile.

"...It was like you were surprised, of course. But as if you had been expecting something like that to happen,"

Aria froze, trying to form some coherent response but all that was coming out of her mouth was jumbled.

"Are you excusing me of something, mom? Are you saying I did that, is that what all this about? Of all the people I thought would accuse me..."

"No, no, Aria, I'm not accusing you of anything," Ella raised her voice slightly, halting her daughter's rant in its tracks. "You're missing the point. But something has been happening these past few months, something that's frightened you. And I think I know what it is...,"

_Oh God_.

"...Its this whole thing with Ian,"

Aria let out a shaky breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding.

"I know its scary, sweetheart, that someone we know could have done something like this. Plus, I don't think it helped that none of us believed you, when you all were telling us the truth,"

Aria wasn't quite sure how to respond, so all she gave was a small nod in return. Part of her wanted to confess all, that she was a pawn in someone else's game, that it wasn't Ian she was frightened of, not anymore. That there was someone much more vicious and ruthless out there, someone who had been making her life a misery for months. But the words just couldn't come out, trapped in there by fear, fear that should she or the other girls let anyone know about 'A', the response would most certainly not be pleasant. Besides, her life had become so entangled in secrets, that should the secret about A emerge, no doubt all her other ones would come tumbling out too. And despite how much she wanted to tell her parents about Ezra, the idea of telling her right now, on the living room couch, made the room feel more stifling and claustrophobic than it had before. No, Aria, couldn't tell her now. No.

Whoever said the truth set you free clearly never encountered A.

"So, your dad and I have been discussing it, and we think we need to be more trusting and open with you, to talk to you more,"

"Mom, if you're suggesting we go back to the therapist again..."

"No, and clearly splitting you up was a bad idea. But we do think you need some proper human companionship again, to show you not all of Rosewood's inhabitants are that bad," Her mother gave a nervous laugh. "Which is why your dad and I think its a good idea to reschedule the dinner party,"

"What?" Aria cringed at her mother's words. "But what about Mike, and everything that's happened recently, and..."

"All the more reason to have a nice relaxed evening, with friends, in a comfortable surrounding that you're familiar with,"

"You sound like you're the therapist," Aria grumbled, under her breath.

"Well sometimes," Ella laughed, placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "That's what parents are,"

**/X/**

She really thought she had managed to avoid this.

Yet here she was again, in the same black dress, nervously handing out drinks and appetisers.

"So, Byron, I trust there will be no more unwelcome guests this time around?" Elliot Partha laughed, accepting a drink from his host.

"Oh, trust me, that'll be the last time police will be showing up at our house, I can guarantee that," Byron Montgomery nodded, taking a swig from his glass of wine. If there was one noticeable flaw with her father, in Aria's eyes, despite the whole 'cheating' fiasco, it was his complete inability to accept and deal with a crisis. He had completely swept the whole 'breaking and entering' thing under a rug, as if Mike's promise that he wouldn't do it again would solve everything. But Aria knew most of all that Mike's word didn't mean anything anymore.

They had accumulated more guests this time, with Aria's parents insistence that she needed to be around 'new' people. All that created was more tense situations, with people she didn't know and people she didn't plan on speaking to ever again. She didn't even know how half of these people knew her parents; she had assumed they were all from the university until an awkward encounter with a thirty-ish woman in the hall, who actually lived down the road. That wasn't pleasant.

"Oh I disagree, Elliot!" His wife laughed. "It was plenty excitement last time. What have you planned this time, Byron? A live fire act? A murder where we all have to guess the killer?"

Aria choked slightly at the last part, as everyone else seemed blissfully unaware of her anxieties.

"Nothing like that, just a quiet dinner with friends. Is that too much for a man to ask?" Her dad smiled wryly.

"Well, sometimes in Rosewood, it really is," Elliot laughed. He didn't know just how right he was. "Anyway, Aria, how's life with you?"

Aria opened her mouth to speak, not quite sure how to answer that. She thought 'Sure everything's fine; me and my friends are being stalked by a madman who tried to kill Emily just last week, I've been having a secret affair with my former teacher who is coming to this dinner, and I also have confused feeling about my dead best friend's older brother, who it just so happens is also coming to this dinner party' might be a little too far.

"Aria?" Her mother's stressed voice came out from the kitchen, saving her from her dilemma. "Can you help me with the dishes?"

"I'll be right back," She smiled, turning and hurrying into the kitchen, only to be interrupted by the door bell ringing.

"On second thoughts, can you get that Aria?" Her mother exclaimed, before quickly diving into the oven, to check the chicken wasn't being burnt to a crisp. Aria paused, plastering a fake smile on her face, ready to greet another group of unknown people, and pretend like she was vastly interested in whatever they had to say.

"Good evening, so good of you to come..." She swung open the door, before pausing with realization as she saw who was on the other side, flowers in hand.

"Hello again, Aria,"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Dot dot dot! Anyhow, hope you enjoy. My apologies for the lack of Jason or Ezra in this chapter, but never the less, they'll be in the next one!


	3. Tension

It was an inevitability of life that the situations you most wanted to avoid almost always ended up presenting themselves, in one form or another.

So Aria almost had to laugh at the fact that at this not at all already awkward dinner party, she had been placed next to both Ezra and Jason, and directly across from her parents.

Someone up there most certainly had a sense of humour, she thought bitterly. And somewhere out there, A was getting great joy and sadistic pleasure from her discomfort.

What joy.

She should have known from the awkward events just a few minutes earlier that the tense tone for the entire evening had been set into motion.

**/X/**

_"Hello again, Aria,"_

_"Hi...Jason," The words that were supposed to be awkward and uncomfortable came out of her mouth as easily as breathing. "Um, thanks for coming," _

_"No problem," He breathed, handing over the flowers. "So, is your brother going to be joining us?"_

_"Hardly," She laughed, rolling her eyes. "He's upstairs in his room, shutting out the world,"_

_"Yeah, I know what that's like," He said, his words suddenly quieter. Suddenly he was looking at her, right at her, and for a moment, as cliche as it sounds, she swore everyone else in the room just faded away and it was like he knew, he knew everything. Every little secret kept, every feeling she felt. He just...knew. _

_"Aria?"_

_Suddenly the trance snapped, and life flooded back into the room as she tore her eyes away and looked to the new guest who had just arrived. _

_"Ezra, hi!" She said, her voice suddenly much brighter, much faker than it had been before. Jason simply nodded at Ezra and moved on into the living room to introduce himself to the other guests, as Ezra's eyes narrowed slightly at Aria's new found enthusiasm. _

_"Hi Aria," He said, before suddenly lowering his voice. "Didn't think we'd be in this situation again,"_

_"Ohhh, trust me," She whispered. "It'll be over quickly, I promise,"_

_"Were you and Jason, uh, talking about Mike?" Aria froze slightly at the question, feeling a strange sensation at the pit of her stomach, but it couldn't possibly be guilt. What would she have to be guilty about? _

_"Uh, sure," She said dismissively, desperate to change the subject. "Mr and Mrs Partha, you remember Ezra!"_

_Before Ezra had a chance to open his mouth, Aria fled quickly into the kitchen, desperate to seek solace from the various guests filling her house. Especially 2 in particular, just sitting across the hall. _

**/X/**

And here she was again, awkwardly passing plates of food along from guest to guest. She studied the pasta on her plate in great detail, swirling them round with her fork, as Jason told a story to her parents. She was secretly listening to every word but trying to hide it, pretending not to show her interest.

"Well, we're happy you're back in Rosewood," Her mother laughed, her wine glass chinking as it hit the edge of a plate. "It seems like you're making some big changes in the house,"

"The odd bits and pieces," He smiled. Aria winced slightly at all the memories she had of that house. "Although I have to admit that my memories from my last stay in Rosewood are...a bit sparse at the moment,"

"Yes, well," Byron Montgomery replied, his voice suddenly taking on a much more paternal, serious tone. "We all do stupid things when we're teens. Its in our nature,"

"Yeah, and I did the stupidest of them all," Jason laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you're a new person now, and that's all that matters,"

"I hope so," Jason responded. "Though I was telling Aria that one of the things I vividly remember is her pink hair,"

"Oh Aria's pink hair! Ah the teenage rebellion phase," Ella laughed. "Luckily, with her, that's how far it went,"

Aria choked slightly on her water as Ezra looked at her in confusion.

"You had pink hair? When?"

"It wasn't really pink," She said quietly, pretending to smile. "Just a couple of pink streaks I put in when I was 14,"

"Still, it suited you," Jason smiled, taking a sip of his wine. She ignored the look Ezra gave her, as her head began to pound and she desperately took another sip of water.

"Aria?" Her dad asked, looking at her with concern. "Are you Ok?"

"I'm fine," She laughed, quickly grabbing one of the plates of food. "More pasta anyone?"

"Um, sure," Ezra replied, taking the plate from her, whispering. "Why did you never tell me you had pink hair,"

"It didn't seem important," She said through gritted teeth, suddenly aware of how many people there were in the room and how many voices were flooding her ears. She was getting snippets of conversations from all around her.

"..._Such nice weather at the moment_..."

"._..I'm glad that awful business with the DiLaruentis girl is finished now..._"

"_...Hollis is a wonderful place, I've often seen Aria around the campus. Must be visiting the campus..._"

"._..Isn't that the brother, at the end of the table next to Ella..._"

"_...Hard to believe that someone like Mike would do something like that..._"

"_...What lovely curtains..._"

"Aria, are you ignoring me?" Ezra whispered. She tried to reply but her head kept swimming and suddenly the room felt so claustrophobic, and her brow began to sweat, and the words felt trapped in her mouth, like she was choking. All she could do was continue to sip on her water, trying to cool herself down, but the room kept spinning and oh they were so _many_ people and so _many_ noises and did her phone just buzz?

**_Poor, poor Aria, sitting there between Mr. Teacher and Older brother, all nervous and scared. Better choose quickly or maybe I'll choose for you. -A _**

Her eyes flashed to the dark window, her hands trembling. Somewhere, out there, A was watching her every mood, revelling in the chaos. The room suddenly felt even smaller, and the voices even louder, and A's presence much more tangible. She wasn't sure anymore if half of what she was hearing was true or not, or whether her jumbled mind was mixing the words.

"..._That poor boy losing his sister like that_..."

"..._the Jackie in your department seems very pleasant_..."

"..._Aria, sweetie, are you sure you're Ok_..."

"**Maybe I'll choose for you**,"

"..._Aria, talk to me_..."

"..._such lovely, lovely, weather_..."

"Aria, are you OK?"

"Stop!" She suddenly shouted and the room fell quiet and ceased to move. All she could now see were concerned faces looking up at her as she swiftly stood up and mopped her brow.

"Erm, you know what dad, I am feeling a bit ill, I think I'm going to go upstairs and lie down for a bit, OK? Excuse me," Aria said hurriedly, as she quickly walked out of the room, ignoring the concerned calls of her parents, and no doubt Ezra and Jason too. She couldn't face any of them, couldn't face their concerned face, couldn't face A right now. Running into her room, she drew the curtains tight, so there was no possible way for someone to look in, or out, locking the door so no one could get in. She didn't even want to talk to Spencer nor Hanna nor Emily right now, she just wanted to be left alone to cry, and hopefully, when she opened her eyes, the house would be empty and she might be able to breathe again.

Giving her mom soft reassurance through the door that she was OK, and just needed to sleep it off, she crawled up in bed and turned off the light, engulfing herself in darkness.

**/X/**

Her dazed crying was interrupted an hour later by a soft knock at the door.

"Look, mom, I'm really not in the mood to talk right now," She shouted out, wrapping herself up further in the duvet. There was a pause on the other side, until another voice called out.

"Its Jason"

Aria stayed still for a moment, before sighing and crawled out of bed, wiping the tears from her face. Slowly she slid the door open, blinking the tears back.

"Sorry Jason, I'm just...really not in the mood to talk right now,"

"No, I get it," He nodded sympathetically. "Your mom just sent me up to see if you needed anything...hey, wait, are you crying?"

"Its nothing," She replied, shaking her head. "Really, I'm fine, you should just go back downstairs,"

"You're not fine," He stated softly, and slowly he lifted his thumb up and wiped a tear gently from her face. For some reason, the tender action caused more tears to stream down her face. Suddenly, she couldn't stop them and, on impulse, she stretched her arms out and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, desperate for some semblance of human comfort. He froze for a moment, having not quite anticipated her reaction, and, she supposed, not having received a hug for a while, but soon he wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling her closer. She was well aware she was wetting the front of his shirt with tears, but she didn't care. She just wanted someone to hug her. Someone in her head chanted "_Boyfriend_ _boyfriend_ _boyfriend_" but she didn't care.

But the realization of her actions caught up with her and she stiffly pulled away, not quite sure what to say. Apparently, neither did she. The chanting stopped, and she cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Um, well, thanks...for coming up," She sniffed, wiping her tears again. "Tell my mom I'm just going to sleep it off. Um...night Jason,"

"Night Aria,"

And he turned and walked back down the corridor, glancing back once but noticing that Aria's door was already shut.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, thank you for all the alerts and reviews! It seriously means a lot you guys! **


	4. Danger

_It was a rainy day outside, as the bed in Ezra's apartment seemed even cosier. Lips crashed into lips as limbs intermingled under the duvet. A haziness and heat clouded the room, making their bodies look like they were moving at both extraordinary speed and not moving at all. _

_"I'm glad I'm here with you Aria," Ezra murmured against her head._

_"I'm glad I'm here with you too..." She mumbled back, taking a closer look at the person next to her. Suddenly dark locks lightened, the mouth became fuller, the chest became firmer and harder. _

_"...Jason," She finished, smiling at the elder DiLaurentis sibling next to her. _

_"Now, where were we?" He laughed, and planted his lips on hers..._

**/X/**

Aria awoke with a shock as the trees outside her room banged against the window. Her perception clearing, she could now fully take in the fact that all this time, she had been lying in her own bed, tossing and turning and getting all hot and heavy over Jason DiLaurentis, of all people.

Well, this was certainly awkward.

Climbing gingerly out of the bed, she glanced at the clock next to her. _5:00_. Great, now not only was she feeling all hot and bothered, but there was absolutely zero chance of her getting back to sleep before having to wake up for school. Not that she wanted to risk having that dream again. Though, then again...

No, she had a boyfriend.

Whispering once again to herself 'Boyfriend Boyfriend Boyfriend', she walked down the corridor to the kitchen, treading carefully in an attempt to not to wake the other sleeping members of the household. If she couldn't go back to sleep, she might as well wake up properly. Perhaps a cup of coffee would put all sorts of, uhm, _images_ out of her mind. But did she really want them to leave, or repeat them over and over again...No! No, no, no, those are bad thoughts Aria. Think good thoughts, like thoughts of sweet, gentle Ezra, probably asleep in his apartment somewhere...yes, just think of Ezra.

Stirring her coffee slowly, her reaction time not quite up to speed at this point in the morning, it took her a moment to react as the front door opened before she gave a yelp.

"Who's there?" She spoke into darkness, before the light flickered on and the sight before her caused her to gasp in surprise. "Mike?"

"Didn't think you'd be at this hour," He replied, with his usual snark. "Don't worry, I'm just grabbing something, then I'll be going,"

"Wait," She replied, grabbing his arm. "Did you just get home?"

"What's it to you," He stated, struggling out of her grip. "That's none of your business,"

"It is when mom and dad are tearing their hair out as to what to do with you. Do you really think you can avoid this forever, by only coming back to the house when you need to grab your stuff then disappearing again?"

"Well, its worked so far," He smiled, a cold, calculating smile that caused her to shiver. He quickly interjected when she opened her mouth to reply "Oh, and if you tell mom and dad, I'll tell them how precious, little Aria knew all this time about what I was doing and lied to their faces about it,"

Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, he turned back up the stairs, before turning back round once again and stating plainly:

"You always were the best liar in the family, Aria,"

**/X/**

School had been average, per usual. For some stupid reason, she had let Emily know about her dream. Of course, for the rest of the afternoon she had been interrogated and ambush her (As much as Emily could interrogate or ambush anyone) but, no doubt, Emily was on her way to telling Spencer, who would give her grief about it for weeks. At least Hanna would take it as a joke, tease her about it; Spencer might lock her up in the basement for two weeks, just so there was no possible way she could run into Jason.

Luckily, she had an excuse to avoid the other girls that afternoon. Just as she was leaving, her mom had grabbed her and asked if she couldn't quickly run into town and possibly pick up some energy saving lightbulbs, as they were in desperate need of them in the house and Ella had a meeting to go to. Aria wasn't quite sure how anyone could 'desperately need' energy saving lightbulbs, but of course she accepted. Anything to avoid running into Spencer, or Ezra, or...Jason. Again. Even just him passing in the hall sent shivers down her spine and red patches to her cheeks. She did not need a direct encounter with him.

For some strange reason or another, the local convenience store had run out of the specific lightbulbs she needed so she had to make the 20 minute drive to the nearest store that stocked them. On the way there, she thought about Ezra. What could she tell him? "Sorry, I had a sex dream about someone who wasn't you! We cool?" No, she wasn't going to mention it all. What Ezra didn't know wouldn't hurt him. What A knew on the other hand...

No, she couldn't think about A. All she would do is pick up these light bulbs, drive home, hole herself up in her room and drown her sorrows in angsty adolescent music, ignoring the calls of everyone. Perhaps Ben and Jerry could join her little sob fest, they the only men she 'desperately needed' right now.

Of course, nothing was ever that simple in Aria's world.

On the way back, having picked up the lightbulbs, her car broke down on the side of an empty road. Naturally, she had taken all the maps out of her car and had due to the shop being one she rarely frequented, she had little idea as to where she actually was. Just her luck.

It was now she wished she had listened to all those times her dad had explained to her what to do in these sort of situations. Popping open the hood was the only thing she could figure out to do, since it was what they did in all the movies, but unfortunately the movies didn't explain what to after you popped open the hood. No, they left that part up to you. Thanks, Hollywood. The car still refused to start, sputtering for a few moments, but other than that making no significant sounds or movements. She supposed that was a relief, at least, it wasn't going up in flames.

Feeling utterly alone as she slumped up against her car, she pulled out her phone. A red flashing sign came up to torment her; "**No Battery**". Great, she couldn't get anyone to come and fetch her, and there didn't appear to be a payphone near her. Once again, she was truly alone. Her best bet was to wait at the car, and hope some helpful stranger would pass her. Or the cops, who were always travelling through the streets of Rosewood.

The sun was beginning to set, and in an hour it would get really dark. She shivered under her jacket. No, someone would come get her before then. They had to. Otherwise, she'd just have to walk back. Through the dark.

...Or just sleep in her car, though neither of those options sounded appealing. She just prayed someone would come save her from this hell.

Suddenly, she heard some twigs snap behind her. Feeling a bit scared, she decided to wait inside her car, grabbing a blanket from the back.

She had been sat like that for 5 minutes when there was a banging on the side of the car. It was a face, smushed up against the side of the car, leering through the window. Her heart began to beat heavily in her chest.

"Now, what's a pretty girl like you doin' all the way out 'ere?" From his slurring, laughing voice, she could tell he was drunk. Through the window, she could make out a long line of tattoos along his right arm. She shrunk further into her seat.

"In a spot of trouble?" The man smirked.

"N-n-no," Damn her voice for betraying her right now. "A tow truck is just on its way to get me," Though the way her voice was shaking, it was obviously a blatant lie.

Without notice, in one harsh shove, the car door was wrenched open and the man peered in, looking straight in her face. Behind him, she could see two other dark figures, leaning against the hood of the car.

"G-g-et away from my car," She spoke, her voice still shaking. The man simply continued to leer and smirk, leaning further and further again, and in one swift, if slightly jeering from the alcohol, movement, pulled the keys from the ignition.

"Well, I'm sorry sweetheart," His breath reeked of the strong smell of whiskey, and she wrinkled her nose with digust. "We're not going anywhere now,"

**/X/**

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! What'll happen now? And did you guys see the preview for next week's show? I swear if Jason turns out to be a creep I'll...though Marlene did say we'd end up really liking him, so I'm thinking this is another Toby situation. (Though, on another note, I did get second hand embarrassment from the Aria/Ezra preview. God, god that was slightly creepy) Anyhow, hope you like! **


	5. Trigger

He yanked her out from the car, unceremoniously, ignoring her cries and pleas. The men behind him continued to laugh and jeer.

"Oh, a fiesty one!" One of them leered from behind, also quite drunk, his words slurring. Aria's chest tightened as the man continued to grip her arm. Oh God, she was going to die. She was going to end up like Allison, buried at the side of the road, left like road kill. No one would know where she was, no one would know what happened. She'd just become another statistic, another poor teenage girl a victim of murder.

The idea spurned Aria into action, and she did the thing most girls would do in her situation; she began to scream. She began to kick, scream, punch, claw, whatever her reflexes would allow her to do. It was difficult though, despite the man's slower reflexes due to the alcohol, as he was still much bigger and stronger than he was. As she struggled to get free, the only thing on her side was surprise, as the man stumbled back slightly when one of her blows landed on his face. Seizing her chance, she made a break for it, running round the opposite side of the car, but the two other men quickly caught up with her, grabbing her arms so tightly she was sure it would leave bruises. Not that that would matter, she thought miserably, if her body ended up in a ditch on the side of the road.

The first man still stood next to the car, rubbing his nose, from which a few drops of blood now trickled. She supposed this was something she could take pride in, but as his flared up, angry face zoomed nearer, she couldn't help but shake. Now the leering smirk which had been on his face quickly vanished, replaced by hot anger.

"Hold the bitch down," He ordered, nodding at his two accomplices. "Oh, you're going to pay for that,"

Now her struggling was no use, she couldn't match the strength of these two big men, pinning her down to the hood of the car. Immediately, sheer terror and panic set in, her body went cold and rigid. The light was slowly leaving, and she couldn't hear any approaching cars, due to the pounding in her ears. No one was coming to save her. She was going to die at the hands of these men. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The pounding of her heart and ears was deafening, it was like her senses slowly left her body, and her mind disconnected. She reasoned that that was the only way to cope. So she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to witness what was about to happen, and hoped that there would be as little pain as possible.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A cry broke through the haze, and it startled all three men and Aria. _Hey, she recognized that voice... _The leader, who had just been lingering with his hand on Aria's thigh, quickly turned around to face the intruder. The two others kept her pinned down to the hood, so she couldn't lift her head up to see.

"Go away, man, this doesn't concern you," The leader stated, giving the new man a shove. "Us boys and the lady are cool. We're just having some...fun. Now, I suggest you leave,"

"I'm not going anywhere," The man replied defiantly. "Aria? Are you ok?"

Wait, _Jason_?

This quickly spurred her mind into action.

"Jason, help me-" Her voice was quickly muffled by the hand of one the men as the leader quickly deduced that their facade had been seen through. So they replied the only way they knew how; violence. The man raised his hand in order to send a punch Jason's way, but the younger, more agile, more sober man quickly deflected and hit him straight back. Sensing his friend was in trouble, one of the thugs holding her down quickly left in order to help. Due to the fact her head was still pinned down to the car, she struggled to see anything. All she could hear were the sickening crunches as someone was hit in the face and crumbled to the floor, cries of pain coming out. She tried to discern which ones were Jason's, but in the confusion of it all, she couldn't tell. She couldn't tell who was winning and who was losing. But she was amazed if Jason could floor all 3 of them, despite their drunken state; they were easily taller and bigger than he was.

But she knew she couldn't just lie there and wait, she had to help. So she did the only thing she could; she bit down, hard, on the man's hand. He let out a cry of pain and she quickly jumped up, manoeuvring round the car away from him. He quickly jumped after her, yelling expletives as he did, trying to catch up with her. Aria knew she couldn't just let him chase her round the car, he would soon catch up with her, and she had to go help Jason, who was still getting punched and kicked by the two stronger men, though he was holding his own, with agile defiance. So she quickly reached into the car, knowing she only had a few seconds to grab what she was looking for before the other man caught up with her. And, hah! For once fate was on her side.

Aria waited until the man was a few steps behind her, nearing closer, before she spun round and him on the head with what was in her hand; an old torch that had been sitting in the car for about 6 months, useless due to its dead batteries. The man stumbled slightly, not expecting the hit, before turning around and collapsing on the floor. She yelped from shock; she hadn't been expecting him to fall over, and for blood to gush out of his head. What if she had...

She couldn't think about that right now. She had to get away.

"Aria, get in my car!" Jason's voice called out to her from somewhere near. She dashed past him, as one of the other men tried to grab her, but Jason quickly stopped him with a punch to the stomach. She winced as the man quickly returned the favour. Watching Jason in the fight, it quickly dawned on her how quick and strong he was in a fight. The idea sent shivers down her spine. Clearly he had been in them before, Lord knows how often. He knew how to easily strike someone...

Getting into the car, she yelled out at him.

"Jason, hurry!"

She watched tentatively in the car as the he made a break for it, quickly pursued by the other two men. He dived nimbly into the car, not giving a second thought to the men behind him, but quickly pulling the car into ignition and pulling away, to the jeers and calls of the men behind him.

There was silence in the car for a moment, as it dawned on the two of them what had just happened, until she suddenly exclaimed;

"Oh my God, your arm is bleeding!" He looked round at her confused, then down at his arm, as if he himself hadn't fully registered that it was.

"I suppose it is," He laughed, in what seemed to Aria to be an incredibly calm way. She quickly tore off a part of her thin shirt and wrapped around his arm, taking care not to press too hard into the wound as some of the blood trickled onto her fingers. He kept looking ahead on the road, not meeting her eyes, as she awkwardly shrank back into her seat, not quite sure what to say.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I suppose," She replied, still sightly dazed. "The lightbulbs!"

"What?"

"I promised my mom I'd get her some energy saving lightbulbs. I left them in the car," She groaned, rubbing her forehead. They were pretty trivial, but considering they were ultimately the whole reason she'd gotten into this mess, she kind of resented having to leave them behind.

"I'm sure your mom will understand," Jason replied, chuckling slightly. She swiftly shook her head.

"I'm not telling my parents about this, they have too much on their plate right now, without having to report something like this to the police, like my mom would," She sighed. "Its too much hassle, and I just really want to forget about this,"

"Aria, you were attacked; I don't think hiding something like this from your parents is going to help,"

"I was _almost_ attacked; they hadn't done anything before you got there, just frightened me a little," She gave a little smile, turning to him. "Besides, if we reported it to the police, I'd have to tell the police about how I hit that man with the torch. God, what if he's dead..."

"Aria, I doubt it. You're not capable of producing enough force to kill someone by hitting someone over the head with a torch," He replied sharply, turning the car round a corner.

"Some people are," She murmured, not daring to meet his eyes. He didn't respond, just simply continued on driving. Aria knew she'd touched sore territory, mentally she kicked herself.

"Uhm, you should probably go to the hospital," She said, indicating his face and arms. "Some of those look really bad. You might be concussed,"

"Yeah, well," He replied, pulling the car to a stop. "Like you, I don't want to get the police involved either,"

It took her a moment to realize they were outside her house. She looked around awkwardly, not really wanting to go inside.

"Well, thanks..again," She smiled. "No, I mean it. Really. Without you there...I don't know what might have happened,"

"Don't mention it," He smiled back. She sat there, reluctant to get out, before facing the realization she would have to.

"Well, goodnight,"

"Goodnight Aria,"

He watched as she wandered down the path, taking slow hesitant steps. Something about the house made her heart feel heavy; she could see her mother through the window, sitting on the couch, head in her hands. Clearly Mike wasn't home. Clearly her parents were at their wits end.

There was something about going home to a house filled with sadness that made everything that happened today; from the dream, to the accusations, to the almost attack, come crashing down on her. She began to sob uncontrollably, large tears pouring down her face. She couldn't go in there, no. She couldn't go in there like this, with tears pouring down her cheeks and bruises on her arms. There would be questions, a story would have to be provided. She couldn't face it.

So she ran back down the path, hoping he hadn't left yet. He was the only person who wouldn't ask questions right now.

"Jason, Jason!"

"Aria, what are you doing-" But before he could reply, she had gotten back into the car, trying to wipe the tears from her face.

"Can we just go, please," She whispered, trying to keep her shaking voice under control. He didn't ask questions, didn't ask why, just simply murmured 'Lets go then', put the car into ignition, and drove away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woah, I got this up quickly! And thanks for all the reviews, they really mean a lot. And all the alerts and favouriting of the story, you guys are wonderful! **

**_daughterofapollo18_: Yes, that's the preview I mean? I'm glad its not me who finds it slightly awkward!**  
><strong><em>halegranger<em>: Yeah, I hope there's an explanation too! Maybe he found the photo reel in his garden; though, having a photo studio does explain why he blacked out the windows and refuses to let people come in, as letting any light come in at all would ruin the pictures.**


	6. Different

It was only as they pulled up to his house that it dawned on Aria quite precisely which house he lived in.

Ali's house.

The house which she hadn't returned to since that awful day.

Immediately upon pulling into the driveway, memories flooded into her consciousness. That whole day they spent lying in the garden, sunbathing. The day when Ali had insisted that they came to her house before sneaking out as she needed to 'inspect their outfits'. The day when Jason almost hit his sister with a hockey stick...The very thought made her shudder.

If Jason had caught onto her nervousness he didn't comment on it, just simply mentioned that he'd go get her car in the morning. Walking up the pathway, it was like she could feel Ali all around her, feel her breath on her shoulder. Aria couldn't fathom how Jason could stand it, actually living in this house. 5 minutes here and she already felt like leaving. But, she supposed, grief touched people in different forms. This was, in many ways, the last connection he had to his sister, for they'd never been close when she'd been alive. Perhaps this was one of the ways he kept her memory alive. Spencer interpreted it as creepy, but for Aria it just made her feel sad in a way she couldn't explain. The whole house felt tinged with sadness.

It was only when Jason gave a slight cough she realized she had been lingering awkwardly in the doorway.

"You coming in?"

She nodded and took a step inside that fateful house. Her nerves dissipated fairly quickly when she realized no ghosts were going to lunge out her, nor were the walls tinted with blood or anything reminiscent of an awful horror movie. It was just any other house, she reminded herself. It may hold a lot of memories, but that's all it held. Aria released the breath she wasn't even aware she was holding.

"Thanks for letting me stay. I just didn't want to give my parents anymore grief, you know?" Aria stated, somewhat awkwardly, removing her scuffed boots and placing them on the carpet. The hallway was still roughly the same, but from what she could see it appeared that the whole layout of the house had changed; what was previously the kitchen was now the living room, and the kitchen occupied the space where the dining room had been.

"Aria, you don't have to explain yourself to me. But, are you sure you don't want to stay with someone like Spencer? She's just across the road," Frankly, he was surprised she'd come anywhere near the house. He'd seen the suspecting looks Spencer had given him, like any moment he was going to grow fangs or something like that. It surprised him that Aria trusted him so openly. If he was in her shoes, and after everything that happened with Ali, and at the grave side, he wouldn't half blame her for running a mile.

"Oh trust me, Spencer's the worst with questions. I'd never shut her up, especially if I turned up looking like this," She pointed at the bruises on her arms from where the drunk men had gripped her so tightly. She watched as Jason's eyes darkened for a moment but he quickly turned around, hanging up his jacket. She knew that Spencer and the Spanish Inquisition that would occur if she saw the bruises was a major factor for not going over there but, for some strange, inexplicable reason, she didn't really want to leave either.

"Oh yeah," His voice had gotten quieter all of a sudden, as if he was trying to muffle his feelings. "I'll just go upstairs and get some ointment for those. Just wait down here,"

And with that, he went up the stairs, leaving her standing alone in the hallway. She wanted to say that he was much more bruised and beaten than he was, that she could go get the ointment, but she sensed Jason didn't want her to go snooping round his house. Her eyes wandered up the stair case, when she spotted the door to the room facing the drive; the room Spencer swore she saw someone in. She strained her ears in order to hear any indication that there was someone else apart from the two of them in the house; some floorboards creaking, a cough, but nothing. Damn Spencer and her crazy theories for putting her so on edge.

Aria wandered tentatively into what was now the living room. There was no real indication that anyone lived here; no family pictures on the wall, no quirky knick knacks or anything like that. It could have been a show home, for all she knew. Apart from the couch. It was battered and blue, as the DiLaurentis' had had it for so many years. She could even see the faint stain where Ali had once spilt white wine on the vodka and got them all to try to scrub it off before her parents noticed. She had no idea how Jason acquired the couch, she presumed his parents would have taken it. It seemed out of place in the show model home; something that wasn't brand new and unlived in.

"Here's that cream for your bruises," Jason's voice called out, causing her to jump nervously, as if she had been looking at something she shouldn't.

"Um, thanks," She said, taking the tube of cream for him. To be honest, she wasn't quite sure how this worked; she hadn't been in that many fights before. In fact, none at all. She'd never seen a bruise like the one on her arm before, all gnarled and green. She squirted a large amount into her palm and started patting it awkwardly on the bruise.

"Aria, that's not how you do it," Jason laughed, grabbing her hand. "Here I'll show you. You don't just pat it in,"

"How was I supposed to know that," She muttered, her cheeks turning red, causing Jason to laugh even more. He grabbed a pea size amount from the blob in her hand and placed it gingerly on her arm, trying not to squeeze the bruise. The sensation was enough to cause her to wince, anyhow.

"Sorry," He murmured, slowly and gently rubbing the cream into her arm, massaging it in. Little shivery thrills crawled along her hairline at sensation as his fingers worked the cream into her skin. Suddenly, she became slightly scared. This was not a normal thing to be doing with an 'acquaintance'. She knew it. She was sure _he_ knew it too. This was far too intimate.

"I think that's enough," She said in a small voice. Immediately, he jumped back, as if he'd been bitten.

"Sure," He muttered, and in a moment the mood altered totally, so much so that she began to wonder if she'd imagined the unspoken something hanging around them. Not to mention that dream this morning...this was all adding up to something strange, thought Aria.

"Can I phone my mom?" She blurted out quickly. "Just I need to tell her I won't be home this evening, and since my phone is out of battery..."

"No, no, go ahead, its in the hall,"

She smiled, and wandered out into the hall, ignoring his burning eyes on her back.

**/X/**

The phone call with her mother had been short and sweet. Ella Montgomery was too tired to argue with her daughter, after a long night of waiting for Mike to return home, that when she said she was staying over at a friend's, her mom didn't even ask which one, just said she'd see her tomorrow and she hoped she slept well.

So much for motherly concern.

Her fingers lingered over the dials, aching to call someone else. Jason was in the kitchen, doing something, so she had the time...

She patiently listened to the dial tone as she awaited the voice she knew so well.

"Ezra?"

"Aria?" Immediately she knew something was up. The background was swarming with noise and his voice was higher than usual. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," She murmured. "Where are you?"

"What?" He yelled back, over the noise.

"Where are you?"

"Oh," He yelled. "Just out for some drinks with some friends from collage,"

For some inexplicable reason those words pierced her deeply. Maybe because it was something she and Ezra would never be able to do together; go out for drinks with his friends. Or maybe it was because he hadn't even considered asking her if she wanted to join them. She may be young, but...she was sure she'd be able to keep up: hell, their conversations were hardly of deep, intellectual matter.

Suddenly there was a loud female voice in the background, a female voice she only knew too well.

"Wait, is _Jackie_ with you?" There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"Aria, you know we share the same group of friends..."

"Well, don't let me keep you then," She said, not able to hide the bitterness in her voice.

"Shit, you're mad, aren't you?" He slurred slightly. "Wait, let me take this outside, then we can talk..."

"No need. I don't really want to now,"

She slammed the phone down in a huff, letting out an angry groan.

"Is something wrong?"

She turned round to see Jason staring at her from the doorway to the kitchen, polishing a glass in his hand. Boy, that guy had a talent for appearing out of nowhere.

"No," She sighed, though her voice clearly said otherwise. "Its just...some people can be real jerks when they want to,"

He raised an eyebrow at her comment but didn't say anything of it.

"There's some food in the kitchen, if you want some,"

"Food would be great right now thanks,"

And she swiftly followed him into the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Right, another short/quick update! The next chapter will be much longer, I promise. Thanks once again for all the reviews and alerts you guys! It really does mean a lot! And I have a quick question, for all those reading: do you ship Aria/Jason, Aria/Ezra, or both? :)


	7. Suspicion

_"Look Aria, just...be careful around, Jason DiLaurentis alright?"_

For some reason, Spencer's words repeated themselves in her head as Aria made her way into the newly decorated kitchen. If Spencer could see her now...god she would flip. She would say she was willingly walking into the mouth of the beast. But what Spencer took as something to hide Aria just interpreted as loneliness. Even the food he got out from the fridge indicated he rarely received guests; some coffee, a somewhat stale packet of biscuits, a couple of microwave pizzas and some other odd bits and bobs. She guessed the biscuits were only there in the first place for the builders on his property. It felt somewhat intrusive, being in there. She could sense the slight reluctance he felt about her being in there, too.

The kitchen itself was a simple, all white one; not as open as the one the DiLaurentis' had previously had, but in a similar vein. Again, there was no real showing of any personality there too; no pictures, no cheesy magnets on the fridge like her parents collected on every family holiday they went on. There was one thing she recognized though; a silver bracelet hanging on one of the cupboard doors. Ali had many like them, that she wore on a daily basis. They of course looked wonderful on her, like everything she tried on.

She'd been wearing a similar one, on the day she died.

"Will Margherita do?" Jason smiled, shaking one of the pizzas in his hand.

"Sure," Her voice still sounded slightly harsh since her brief conversation with Ezra. She was upset, of course, that he'd failed to mention this night out with her and hadn't even considered introducing her to his friends, but shouldn't she be more upset about the fact her boyfriend was hanging out with his ex-fiance? "I like what you've done...with the kitchen, I mean,"

"Thanks," He replied, punching in the numbers on the microwave. "Take a seat, it'll be a couple of minutes,"

She slid nervously onto one of the newly purchased black bar stools that sat in the kitchen. Silence settled for a few minutes, punctuated only by the frequent beeps coming from the microwave. Each of them couldn't quite look the other in the eyes; Jason, she guessed, was still slightly awkward about having her in his kitchen and Aria..., well, after that dream this morning, she didn't think she'd be able to look Jason in the face for a long, long time.

In the mean time, she studied his bruised knuckles, looking at the bruises going all the way up his arms, and probably onto his back and down his...No. Inappropriate thought territory. She'd seen the bruises on his face earlier though, and they'd made her wince. She suddenly yawned from tiredness. It had been a long day, and her head was swimming. Swimming with images of the dream, Emily's face when she told her, those drunk men leering at her, Jason's beaten up face, the strange incident with the ointment, Ezra being too drunk to care...it was as if once again, all the events crashed down on her, and tears fell down her cheeks. Before she knew it, she was crying. God, it seemed like that was all she did these days. She wondered why her eyes weren't permanently red and blood shot by now.

It was clear Jason hadn't been expecting her to burst into tears at his kitchen table, and he placed an awkward arm round her shoulders, soothing her gently. The small act of tenderness caused her to really burst into tears and her whole body wracked with sobs. Standing in Jason's lonely kitchen, with his soft bruised, arms around her, and Ali's bracelet in the corner of her eye proved too much. Now she was crying, she couldn't stop. It was as if all the events of the past few days caught up with her in one hit. Mike, Spencer, Ezra, A...speaking of A, where was that son of a bitch right now? Surely they'd have something to say about this. It was then she remembered her dead phone in her pocket and it felt like a weight lifted. Even if A contacted her, bombarded her with a million of texts, trying to make her feel guilty as hell, A couldn't touch her right now. In the morning, all that tension would come flooding back but for now, for that evening, she was free of A.

(Although deep down she knew that, with A, it was never that easy).

She must have been standing there crying with Jason's arms around her for a few minutes as, before she knew it, the microwave gave a loud beep and caused them both to jump. Aria quickly wiped her tears away and took a step back. Her face flamed with embarrassment. Jason had now seen her crying at least 3 times; to Aria, crying had always been such a deeply personal thing that she was sure Ezra had only seen her cry at most twice, and one of those times had been due to the fact that Ezra had accidentally elbowed her in the eye. She had cried in private of course, many times, but in public? _Don't let anyone see your weakness_, Ali had said and it was a mantra Aria stuck to.

Jason once again avoided her eyes as he slowly removed the hot pizza out of the microwave. It was now really dark outside; Aria shivered at the memory of all the times she thought A was out there, hiding in the darkness. Jason caught her shiver and immediately misinterpreted it.

"Are you cold?" Before she could respond, he went out into the hallway and emerged with a navy sweater, one she recognized from this morning. Smiling a grateful smile, she slipped the soft sweater over her head. It even smelt like him. The large sweater engulfed her tiny frame, wrapping her in warmth.

"Come on," He smiled. "Lets eat,"

**/X/**

The meal passed by quickly, conversation coming easier now. Jason detailed all his plans for the house, explaining quite precisely what he was planning on doing. Aria listened, throwing in the occasional 'Mm' and a nod, but really she was mesmorized by how passionate he seemed about the whole project. His dedication to it was amazing and the regret he felt about his previous stoner days seemed so sincere that in those brief moments, Aria had no idea how Spencer could suspect him. To Aria, he was open and vulnerable, not closed or guarded. Of course, there always seemed to be his hesitation to open up but she put that more down to his unwillingness to trust than something to hide.

Slowly, over time, the constant feeling of Alison on her back seemed to fade, and it became more and more about the fact that she and Jason were having simply a friendly conversation over pizza. It even lead to her opening up about Mike and her constant feeling of guilt. There was something about letting the truth go free that really made her feel a lot more content, a lot lighter. It also helped that Jason seemed to understand in a way no one else did. He wasn't there to sit and judge, or offer useless advice not knowing the full extent of the situation. She knew her friends and Ezra would never judge, but deep down, they didn't really understand, did they? As much as they tried to, they just couldn't grasp it.

Aria let out a yawn as she realized it was already pretty late. Again, an awkward tension settled between them. Neither of them was sure what to say, or what move to make. Finally, Jason relented and began to walk up the stairs.

"You can stay in the spare room, its the first one on the left. Its fully furnished and everything, and there are towels in the closet if you want a shower,"

She wanted to ask why he had a fully furnished spare room when he never appeared to have any guests but all she could surmise was a grateful 'Thanks'.

"Thanks for this, Jason. I know I've said that already but..." She looked down at her hands, following him slowly up. "Seriously, thank you,"

"Its really no problem, Aria,"

"Wait!"

"What?"

"I, uh..." She looked down again, awkwardly. "I don't have any pyjamas,"

There was another pause, before he sighed and turned into the next room. Aria thought he'd left but a moment later he came back, an oversized t-shirt in one hands and some old tracksuit pants in the other.

"I hope these are OK, they might be a little big," He smiled, tossing them to her. "Anything else?"

"Um, no," She shook her head quickly. "Goodnight Jason"

"Goodnight Aria,"

**/X/**

It was when she got inside the room she quickly remembered this must have been the room where Spencer saw someone at the window. It wasn't a room she remembered from previously, if she remembered correctly it had been the Dilaurentis' parents' room. Even Ali hadn't dared venture in here. The room itself was quite plain and modest, with a small white bed in the middle of the room surrounded by a few cupboards. She wandered over to one of them, looking for a towel so she could have a shower. The first one she opened appeared to be empty, until she noticed something had been pushed all the way back. Putting her hand in, she was surprised as her hands pulled out a pair of girl's sneakers. Why would Jason have girl's sneakers? They certainly weren't Ali's, they were too rough and torn up, and something Ali would definitely not have been caught dead in. Or, something like that...

They were battered and covered in dirt, as if someone had fallen over in mud. God knows where they came from, and why had someone shoved them into the back of a cupboard? Shaking slightly, she quickly shut the door and decided against having a shower, just wanting to fall asleep as quickly as possible. Aria quickly changed into the clothes Jason had given her, and slid under the covers. The bed was surprisingly comfy, and she realized just how tired she was. It had been a long day.

In a matter of minutes she fell asleep.

**/X/**

"_Well I'm sorry sweetheart, we're not going anywhere now..._"

"_Hold the bitch down..._"

"_You're going to pay for that..._"

"_Aria, get in my car..._"

Aria awoke with a start as she felt her heart pounding and her whole body shaking. Her dream had seemed to real...no, no, she was safe, in Jason's house. Hah, if Spencer could only hear her now.

Tossing and turning, she tried to get back to sleep with no avail. Every time she shut her eyes images of those men popped up, and images of Ezra and Jackie together, and she opened them again with a start. No, sleep was eluding her. It was no use trying. She looked at her watch: 1:30 in the morning. Brilliant. Maybe if she moved around a bit it might make her feel more tired. Slowly and tentatively she slid out of bed, trying not to wake up Jason. At the dead of night, in this house, it was like all the ghosts came alive. She even swore she heard Ali giggle, but quickly shook herself out of it.

She went out into the corridor, shutting the door softly behind her. Maybe a glass of water would help. Suddenly, something caught her eye at the end of the corridor.

The door to Ali's old room.

For a moment she seemed to stop breathing, and instinctively her feet began to move down the corridor. One look...she wondered if it was like it had been last time she visited. Or was everything one, every little trace of Ali...her hand reached out and turned the knob, not knowing what to expect.

Well, it seemed she shouldn't expect anything, as the door was locked. She wrestled furiously with the handle but to no avail. It wasn't budging. She groaned in frustration.

Suddenly there was noise in the corridor, and she was swiftly aware of a door opening and closing.

Jason.

She quickly jumped into the shadows, leaning back against the wall, praying he wouldn't spot her here. She watched from the darkness as he stepped into the moonlight, looking around. Clearly he had heard her snooping around. His eyes quickly flashed to her door, thank God she had locked it. It seemed like eternity before he finally relented and went back into his own room, having made sure there was no one lurking. She waited a moment, hoping he would have gone back to sleep, before sprinting back to her own room and quickly shutting the door behind her.

The door clicked behind her and Aria could not shake the feeling that somewhere in the house, Jason heard the door slam and knew exactly what she had been doing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: THAT EPISODE THOUGH. What did everyone think of last night's ep? Hot and steamy I'd say. I refuse to believe Jason is a creeper though, I REFUSE. I HOLD OUT HOPE. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP. Perhaps this is an adequate moment to start singing Dido's 'White Flag'...Jason isn't a creeper until he starts staring people down with a glass of milk. For sure.

Though, since every resident Rosewood creeper, bar Ian, turns out to be a good guy (Well, Ian was a bad guy but he turned out to be not as bad as they thought. Still pretty evil though) I'm thinking Marlene King is just messing with us and soon all will be revealed.

But it was interesting to hear your shipper thoughts! I'm pleasantly surprised as I thought most people were all 'Ezria 4 lyf' so to see that there are a few Jason/Aria fans is good! I have to ask, with regards to last night's ep, isn't what Aria and Ezra did legally statuatory rape? Who knows.

Anyway, I want to thank all those who reviewed the last chapter, it really means a lot! So big hugs to: **The-Essence-Of-Everything**, **DecemberSnowfall**, **ForeverTeamEdward13**, **J-Marie**, **rippez**, **Unhr25**, **AlyssaStarr**, **daughterofapollo18**, **rjt040190**, **MPRockstar16**, **-Bite Me Anyday-**, **Twilighter Tabitha**,** Queen Latifeh**, **halegranger**, **SlytherinSierra001**, **xoBrownEyedGirlox**, **AjMcGough**, **bookluver10145679**, **Maiqu** and **sparksfly16**! You're all amazing.

So, another question of the week, who do you think would win in a fight, Ezra or Jason?


	8. Deception

Oh, God, she was going to be so late.

It wasn't her fault. Jason didn't have an alarm as he didn't really have to be up that early in the morning as his counselling sensations didn't start until 11, but of course Aria failed to realize this and had woken up half an hour later than usual. After an awkward few minutes trying to wake up Jason and usher him out the house as quickly as possible, not having breakfast but Aria doubted he had anything edible anyway, they had quickly stopped at her house and tried to sneak in through her bedroom window in order to retrieve some clothes for Aria. Well, Jason didn't go in, he just had to hoik Aria up above the bushes while she awkwardly tried to scramble in through the window, attempting to look as graceful as possible but still landing with a rather loud 'thunk' on the floor. It had been rather an effort to get into her room, and that put her mind to rest about the possibilty of A ever sneaking in, but the fact that it was still possible made her shiver slightly. Lord knows how A would ever get in here unaided...

After an unskillful attempt at getting back down again in which she landed rather unceremoniously right on top of Jason, and her bruises began to sting again, they drove to the outskirts of town to pick up her abandoned car, which was still in one piece, an unopened packet of lightbulbs on the backseat. Giving awkward goodbyes, not quite sure what to say each other, they parted, Jason not sharing where he was going, and Aria hurried to school.

There was no time to change, she would just have to rush to first period and hope no one noticed she was in the same clothes as yesterday. She'd have time to quickly change at break. Of course, Aria never could catch a break, and as she sprinted to class she ran straight into Spencer, knocking them both to the floor.

"Woah, Aria! What's the rush?"

"Sorry, sorry," Aria muttered, helping her friend off the floor. "Just thought I was late, that's all,"

"Yeah, well, there's still 2 minutes before Biology starts but you're right, we better get going," Spencer replied, walking down the corridor. "Wait...aren't you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?"

Busted.

But, instead of Spencer's usual disapproving look, what she got was a teasing smile.

"Were you with _Ezra_?" Spencer stuck out her tongue.

"...Yes!" Aria exclaimed, taking the bait. "Actually, if my mom asks, can you tell her I stayed at yours last night?"

"Of course," Spencer laughed. "Though next time, take a change of clothes yeah?"

"Yeah, learnt my mistake," Aria muttered, hoping Spencer wouldn't notice her guilty expression.

"Ugh, did I tell you I noticed Jason pulling into his driveway just as I was leaving the house this morning. He looked really shady, he had bruises all up his arms! No joke, he'd obviously been in a fight with someone. He's getting shadier by the minute. Where he does he go all the time? Do you think he was out all night?"

"Look, can we not talk about this? Maybe he was just up early. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, Spence,"

"Oh, I forgot, you're Jason's biggest fan," Spencer rolled her eyes, going into the classroom. Aria set next to her, pulling out her books, still avoiding Spencer's eyes for fear she'd see the lies in them.

"Not going to talk about this, Spence" Aria replied, in a sing song voice, just as Hanna and Emily came into the classroom, looking perfectly fresh and polished.

"Not going to talk about what? Aria's bed head hair?" Hanna teased, pointing at Aria's unbrushed mane of hair. Aria stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

"Oh, lay off her! She spent the night with Ezra," Spencer's statement was met with a chorus of 'Oohs' from Hanna and Emily.

"Did you..." Hanna wiggled her eyebrows, earning her a punch in the arm from Emily.

"No!" Aria exclaimed in earnest. "No, it just got too late to go home,"

"Yeah, so 'officially' she stayed at my house," Spencer stated, looking pointedly at Hanna and Emily. They each nodded in turn.

"Got it,"

"So what were you guys talking about?" Emily asked but before Spencer could reply, their teacher stormed angrily into the room, clearly in a downtrodden mood and each individual student quickly stopped talking and focused on their work, fearing the wrath of their tempered Biology teacher.

**/X/**

"Ugh, I swear Mr. Banks is a modern day slave driver," Hanna groaned, reapplying her lipgloss. "Did you see how much homework we got? Does he not want us to have a life or something?"

"Hanna, we do have exams in a few weeks," Emily reapplied, standing awkwardly next to her friend, not really one for 'bathroom make up' time. Aria emerged from one of the stalls, fluffing up her hair, glad it was the end of the day.

"Emily's got a point, Han. Right now I am _really_ unprepared for exams,"

"You guys are such buzzkills," Replied Hanna, ignoring the looks Emily and Aria gave each other as she went to retrieve her now ringing her phone. "Ugh, its my mom, I have to take this, give me a sec,"

"More dad trouble I bet," Sighed Emily, as Aria rolled up her sleeves to wash her hands.

"Probably," But her sentence was cut short as Emily grabbed hold of her wrists and began to trace the bruises on the soft underside of her arms.

"What are these? Aria?"

"Nothing!" Aria cried out, quickly rolling her sleeves back down.

"That's _not_ nothing," Emily replied, her voice lowering and becoming more serious. "Aria, how did you get these?"

"Its nothing, ok. I just tripped and fell," Aria stated dismissively, embarrassed that Emily had caught sight of them.

"Onto someone's hands? Aria, those are fingerprint bruises,"

"Look, Em, its nothing OK? Let it go," Before Emily could reply, Spencer burst into the bathroom, a smile on her lips.

"Aria," She smiled. "There's someone waiting for you outside!"

Aria's brows furrowed in confusion. It couldn't be her dad, he was on Mike watch at home.

"Who?"

**/X/**

And sure enough, as she went outside, there was a very familiar figure leaning against his car. Ezra Fitz.

Her smile quickly vanished from her face. She did not want to deal with this right now.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her face stony cold.

"Aria, I know you're mad at me..."

"Look can we not do this right here, in the school car park?" Her voice didn't betray any of the emotion she felt. "My parents might see,"

His answer was cut short as there was a chorus of replies from Spencer and Emily, as they waved enthusiastically, with Hanna giving an exaggerated wink.

"Why are they winking at us?"

"I have no idea," Muttered Aria, moving away from the general student body, with Ezra hot on her heels.

"Aria, there's no use running away, I can tell when you're angry..."

"I'm not running away..." She replied, looking around quickly. "Look, let's not do this here, OK?"

"Fine, Aria, where do you want to go?" Ezra threw his hands up in exasperation. "You can't keep running. Why don't we go get a coffee or something?"

"Sure, lets go get coffee," Aria murmured, following Ezra into his car, not saying a word in the process.

**/X/**

"Well, they sure look like a happy couple," Emily frowned, as the girls watched from a distance as Aria and Ezra made their way into his car.

"Yeah, anyone would think they hadn't just spent a hot, steamy night together," Hanna remarked, still looking at her nails. Spencer shrugged.

"Clearly the pillow talk wasn't so great," Spencer replied sarcastically, before exclaiming in surprise. "Oh! Did I tell you I saw Jason this morning?"

"He does _live_ next to you Spence,"

"No, no, that's not it, it looked like he was just getting home," Spencer defended herself. "And the creepiest part was he had bruises all over his arms and a couple on his face,"

"Wait, bruises?" Emily responded quickly, stopping in the middle of the road. "Fresh bruises?"

"Yeah," Spencer replied, turning round to face her. "Like he'd just gotten into a fight, or something,"

"Clearly we're not the only ones that think he's a creep," Hanna muttered. Emily shook her head, furrowing her brow in thought.

"Em? Is something wrong?"

"What?" She asked, quickly snapping out of thought. "Oh no, just, that's really strange that he'd be covered in bruises,"

"Tell me about it," Spencer snorted. "I didn't get such a good look as he ran back into his house, but they were definitely new,"

"Hmm," Murmured Emily, contemplating the implications of this in her head. It was too much of a coincidence...

"Look, can we get going? I am dying for some decaf and I'm pretty sure that those pink shoes are going to be sold out by the time we get there if we don't move our asses," Hanna whined, shifting awkwardly on one foot.

"Yeah, yeah, alright we're going," Spencer laughed. "Em? You coming?"

"Actually, do you mind if I pass?" Emily replied, putting on her most neutral face. "Just got a lot of studying to do, I've missed so much already,"

"Suit yourself," Shrugged Hanna. "I'll see you at home?"

"Sure," Emily smiled. "See you later you guys,"

But first she was going to make a quick stop, to find out exactly what was going on.

**/X/**

The drive to one of the local coffee shops was short and swift, marked by silence in the car. On the way, it began to rain. Aria thought it was rather appropriate considering the situation. She remembered the last time she had been in his car in the rain, the passion and lust she felt for him, how much agony it was that the school kept them apart. In comparison, now she felt numb and the atmosphere in the car was stale, not heated and passionate like that time had been.

They exited the car in general silence, Ezra only breaking it in order to ask what she'd like. They took a small table in the corner, away from prying eyes, not quite sure what to say to each other.

"I left you messages," Ezra stated.

"My phone's been out of battery since yesterday evening,"

"Oh. I thought you were avoiding me" There was a pause. "Look, Aria, I genuinely didn't go out that evening with Jackie. I know she was there, but I had no say in it. I didn't invite her. I can't help that we share the same group of friends; we're bound to run into each other,"

"I know," Aria sighed. "Its just a part of me felt you didn't _want_ me to meet your friends,"

"You've met Hardy, haven't you?"

"Yes, but even then that was only by accident," Aria replied. "Its just, sometimes I think you're ashamed of me, that there are whole parts of your life I'm not privvy too. Its how I felt with Jackie too, I know you said you'd never lie to me but it felt like a lie,"

"Aria, that was never my intention," Ezra replied, grabbing her hands. "I would never ever feel ashamed of you,"

"So why didn't you invite me to meet your friends?"

"It just...didn't occur to me,"

Aria's heart sank at that response. It was the logical step forward in most relationships, and he didn't even think of it? It summed up their relationship in full.

"What would you have said..." Aria asked tentatively "...If I asked to go with you?"

"Honestly?" Ezra faltered slightly, before replying. "I don't think they're your kind of people,"

"Great," Aria scoffed. "Am I not smart enough for them or something? That I wouldn't meet your high levels of conversation?"

"Aria, that is not what I said, now you're just being immature,"

"Immature?" Her voice was laced with scorn. "Of course, thats the _big_ problem in this relationship, it always has been with you,"

"Look, Aria, if you want to meet my friends, you can meet them! We can set up a date, go bowling or..."

"Ezra, that's not my point," Aria's voice became more anguished. "I want you to want me to meet your friends. I want you to walk up to them proudly and say 'Hey, have you met my girlfriend Aria?' but sometimes, I think you don't want me to be your girlfriend in public. That we'll always be stuck in your apartment, eating Chinese take out,"

"Aria, I think you're really over-reacting..."

"Fine," Aria rose up from the table, shaking her head. "I'll leave you in peace. Wouldn't want you to have to deal with someone as immature as me, would we?"

"Aria, wait, come back!" She ignored his requests and walked head on into the pouring rain, trying to drown out Ezra's voice. He swiftly followed her outside, running into the car. She began to walk down the sidewalk, disregarding how soaked she was getting. Ezra pulled up beside her in the car, rolling down the window.

"Aria, come on, get in the car, you're going to get pneumonia walking like that," He now sounded really concerned. She remembered last time this happened, she jumped in and began to kiss him passionately. But right now, that was the last thing on her mind. She felt really wounded. Considering everything she'd been through, the last thing she wanted to be called was 'immature'. Especially from Ezra. It stung.

"Aria, this is stupid. Get in the car,"

She didn't respond.

"Aria, for my sake get in the car? I'm really sorry about what I said. I was out of line,"

Still no response.

"Aria, this is ridiculous..."

"Look Ezra, just leave,"

She expected him to fight. She expected him to insist that she get in, that he didn't care if she hated him, he was too worried for her safety, that he didn't want her to catch her death out of there, even if he had to force her into the car. _She expected him to fight for her_.

What she didn't expect him to do was to sigh, reply with a frosty 'Fine then', and, rolling down the window, drive away and leave her standing there in the pouring rain. No, she didn't expect that at all. Small tears fell down her face, intertwining with the rain, hot and salty tears next to cold raindrops. Well, this was a poignant setting to have her heartbroken. She almost felt like laughing at how cliche this all was.

Another car pulled up to her and she recognized the concerned face of Emily though the window, who began to yell out at her.

"Aria? What are you doing out here in the rain?"

Aria couldn't respond, too shell shocked, and after a few seconds she could only muster a few words.

"I think my relationship just ended,"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Woah, an update in a day? Sweet Jesus. The funny thing is, while writing this, during all the Aria/Ezra scenes, I wanted to shout out 'BUT YOU ARE BEING IMMATURE' but since this story is mainly from Aria's perspective, I wanted to write it as how she would view it. As in, that these issues aren't her fault. But once again, thank you to all those who reviewed! You guys are super, duper awesome, and wonderful, and I always feel so happy when I see that people have reviewed.

**MEMEME**: Haha, I know, I know, but I'm just clinging on in desperation that Jason isn't a creep, that its actually a big red herring. My two current theories are:

a) Jason was just out for a stroll and found a roll of pictures to develop and was like 'Trolololol I wonder what's on this, lets develop it in my dark room, OH SHIT, THESE ARE ALL OF ARIA'

b) A set that up in the shed without Jason knowing, or sends him the pictures to develop etc.

Terrible theories, I know, BUT RIGHT NOW I'M HOLDING OUT HOPE. The sad thing is that Marlene King said the love triangle plot will be resolved by episode 12, which I'm guessing means Aria/Ezra stay together, buuut she also added that it was set up for future Aria/Jason as there was a lot of connection there, or something like that. Its just, ugh, I want Jason and his terrible 90s boyband hair and his eye sex with Aria to be on my screen all the time. -sad shipper dreams-


	9. Beginnings

Emily had been nice enough to drive and not ask any questions as Aria sobbed silently next to her. She pulled into a largely empty car park and reached over and gave her friend a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder.

"Aria, I'm sure Fitz isn't going to break up with you over some stupid fight," She sighed, slowly massaging her friend's hand. "You guys are bigger than that,"

"This isn't some one off fight. Its been building for a while," Aria's voice was quiet and meek as she continued to cry.

"You didn't stay over at his house last night, did you," It wasn't a question, more of a statement. Aria shook her head.

"Look," Emily continued. "Spencer said she saw Jason this morning, with bruises all over his arms and face. Bruises like yours,"

At this Aria's head snapped up.

"Aria...did he _attack_ you?"

"No!" Aria vehemently denied. "No, of course he didn't!"

"Aria, are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes! He did not attack me, I swear. Do you not think I'd mention something like that?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to think. First you've got strange bruises all over your wrists, then I hear Jason has bruises too, and now you're broken up with Ezra. What was I supposed to think?" Emily sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, its nothing like that. But I did get attacked last night..." The events of last night slowly poured out of Aria's mouth as Emily patiently listened, nodding at appropriate points, until it got to the part where Aria stayed in the DiLaurentis house over night.

"Wait? You stayed at his house? Aria, did you not know how _dangerous_ that was?"

"Look, I had nowhere else to go, OK? And since he had just saved me, I figured I was safe," Aria defended. Emily groaned.

"Nowhere else to go? Spencer lives right next to him! Couldn't you just have stayed with her?"

"And say what? 'I was attacked by three drunk men and I don't want to go home right now, can I stay with you?' You know Spencer would just have asked questions, especially if she found out that Jason was the one that saved me,"

"So, come stay with me and Hanna," Emily replied. "You didn't have to stay _there_. Who knows what he might have done while you were asleep? And after those dreams you had who knows what you might have tried to do _instead_ of sleep"

"Ew," Frowned Aria. "Look, nothing happened, he gave me some food and then I went to sleep. Thats all,"

"And how did you know the food wasn't poisoned?"

"Ok, now you're sounding like Spencer. This isn't a horror movie, nobody in real life poisons microwaved pizza,"

"Sorry," Emily smiled. "Its just, I'm worried, that's all,"

"Em, you don't have to be. Nothing happened," Aria hugged her friend tightly. Emily always was the one you could count on most.

"Wait..." Emily quickly pulled away. "Is that what you and Ezra fought about? Was he jealous of Jason?"

"There's nothing to be jealous of," Emily raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so I didn't tell him in case he got hurt. But that's not what we fought about,"

"So what was it?"

"Just his friends, and you know, Jackie, and..."

"Jackie? You mean, his ex Jackie? Did something happen between them?"

"Oh no, nothing like _that_," Aria shook her head. "Its just, we weren't moving forward in the relationship, and I'm just...tired, you know? Look, I don't even know if we've broken up, or if I'm just over-reacting,"

"Maybe you should call him," Emily suggested. Again, Aria shook her head.

"I don't feel like talking to him right now, we both need a bit of space. I'll talk to him, tomorrow maybe," Aria said despondently. "Ugh, when did my life get into such a mess?"

"Well we both know one reason why," Emily muttered. They both nodded in mutual agreement. "Speaking of that mess in particular, what has A said about you staying over at the DiLaurentis house, and you know, sort of breaking up with Ezra..."

"Honestly? I don't know. My phone died yesterday which is why I couldn't call a repair service, and right now its charging at home," Aria answered. "Though I'm thinking about chucking it away for good, becoming fully Amish. It seems the only way I'm ever going to get away from A,"

"Nah, you know they'd still find a way to get you," Emily laughed. The mood in the car settled again. "So...what are you going to do now?"

"Go home, try and avoid my mom, just...try and avoid everybody," She murmured. "Try to forget about these last few days, I suppose,"

"What do you want me to tell Hanna and Spencer?" Emily said, her voice full of love and care.

"Just tell them Ezra and I are going through a, um, a rough patch, I suppose. Say I didn't tell you why,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, thanks," Aria almost whispered. "I'm so sorry that you have to keep lying for me, Em,"

"I know you'll tell them everything when the time is right," Emily smiled in return. "Can I give you a lift home? I promised I'd be back by 5. Hanna has apparently meticulously planned this Desperate Housewives marathon, down to every bathroom break,"

"Thanks Em," Aria grabbed her friend's hand tightly. "I really mean it,"

"Don't mention it,"

**/X/**

Aria had managed to enter the house quickly, without being noticed by her parents, and without being questioned as to why she was soaked to the bone. Running upstairs, she collapsed in a heap on her bed, not caring how drenched the sheets got. God, it felt like decades since yesterday morning, when all that she had to worry about was some silly dreams. When, in her mind, her and Ezra were still on solid, but slightly, rocky ground. Now it felt like everything had slipped through her fingers, like water.

Her phone beeped threateningly across from her, taunting her, and she hardly had the energy to check it. But eventually she relented and flipped it up, bracing herself for what she might find. There of course were the messages from Ezra, all from last night bar 2 from this morning, but none since their row. Yep, space was definitely needed right now. There was one from Hanna, about some homework assignment that she'd already forgotten about.

And...none from A?

That couldn't be right...

Nope, definitely none.

She definitely thought that out of everyone, A would have the most to say about the events of the past few days. The dream? Staying at Jason's house? The situation with Ezra? But no, there were no cruel messages, or demands. She wanted to feel relieved but there was still a feeling of dread in her stomach, as if A was just building up for something much, much worse. And with A, there were no limits as to how far he or she would go.

Aria was interrupted from her musings by a knock on the door; her mom.

"Hey, I feel like I haven't seen you in a while," Ella Montgomery said softly, lounging in the doorway.

"Yeah, I've been, um, busy," Aria faked a smile.

"Aria, why do you look like you've been hit by a flood?"

"Oh, just got caught without an umbrella. Stupid, I know," Aria rolled her eyes. Her mother tried to smile, but Aria could see how drained she looked. She'd aged 10 years overnight; Aria guessed it must have been Mike. Now she definitely didn't want to give her parents extra hassle about her near attack; they were much better in somewhat blissful ignorance.

"So, who'd you stay with last night?"

"Spencer"

"What did you guys get up to?"

"Oh just talking, you know, usual girl stuff," Aria replied.

"Well, its good that you're out with your friends, and out of the house," Her mother smiled, but to Aria she still looked sad.

"I mean, if you and Dad ever want to go out one evening, I can alway, I don't know, look after..." She tried to suggest but her mom quickly interjected.

"I don't think you and your dad are going to go out any time soon. Not while your brother is still like this..." Ella shook her head. "Anyway I just wanted to check in. I'll let you get on with your work,"

"See you later mom,"

Ella merely nodded before quickly disappearing down the hall, wiping the tears from her eyes. Aria watched her mom leave, feeling dejected and useless that she just couldn't do _anything_. Emily had talked about how much Aria liked to fix things and it was true. When she couldn't put the pieces back together she just felt...completely and utterly useless. All she could do now was remove her sodden clothing and climb into bed, not caring that it was still early, curling up with a good book and her Ipod, and try to put all thoughts of the previous few days out of her mind.

Maybe she should have a Desperate Housewives marathon of her own, anything to get her mind off things.

**/X/**

Aria awoke the next morning feeling much more refreshed and ready for whatever life threw her way. She could finally have a long shower, re-curl her hair, pick out a nice outfit and grab a really good cup of coffee. A new outlook on life was what she needed. Yesterday was gone, today was going to be better. Because nothing could really be as bad as the past few days, right? She even started contemplating if she might really be able to patch things up with Ezra. She might really have been over-reacting. Everyone deserved a second chance.

Determined to talk to him today, she headed out of the house to run some errands, coffee in hand. Of course, fate struck at that moment and she ran head first into a girl, and her coffee spilled all down her nice new top.

"Great," She muttered. "Thats just great,"

"I'm so sorry!" The other girl exclaimed hurriedly, trying to dry Aria off. "I'm really sorry,"

"Its ok," Aria replied, still annoyed. "Could have happened to anyone,"

Now she was up she took a good look at the girl she'd just run into. She was a few years older than her, with a head full of bright, shiny red hair. She was _stunning_, even if her hair was so bright that Aria almost felt blinded. She was sure she'd never seen her around here before, Aria was sure she'd remember a girl like this.

"Hey, I don't want to trouble you anymore than I already have but..." Bright red-headed girl continued. "Could you help me out, really quickly? Its just I'm a bit lost..."

"Sure, what do you need help with?" Aria replied, trying to be helpful.

"Um, do you know where Jason DiLaurentis lives?"

Wait, what?

"Um...sure," Aria replied. Was this dirty sneaker girl? No, this girl looked like she'd never ever go running in mud. "Wait, who are you, exactly?"

"A friend," Red headed girl's eyes narrowed. "Why, do you know him?"

"Yeah, I'm also a ...friend, I suppose," Aria answered. Why did she suddenly feel so weird? "Anyway, Jason lives just over there, if you follow the lane down to the bottom, then turn left, its the house on the right,"

"Oh, super, thanks!" The girl smiled, her teeth nearly as bright as her hair. Seriously, it was like she was _shining_. "Well, I better get going, thanks for your help! Oh, and sorry once again, about your top,"

"Don't mention it," Aria forced a smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you,"

"Ah, you too,"

Well, bugger, this day just took a turn for the worse.

Her good mood ruined, she headed back into the house, to change her top and attempt to turn this day around, before it got any worse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Wait, another update? Woah. I know this is short but I wanted to get it out before tomorrow. Anyway, once again hope you enjoy! And I'm so glad people are enjoying this story, I really am. My priority is that you guys like this! So if you have any suggestions, or where you'd like to see this go, I'd love to hear them. Should Aria get back with Ezra, etc. Once again, thanks so much for all your reviews!


	10. Sadness

The day had so far been subtly better since the coffee incident and meeting the shining girl who happened to be looking for Jason of all people. Aria had gotten some work done, gone for a run, put all thoughts of Ezra and any one who was of the male species out of her mind and had even indulged in some heavy retail therapy (Hanna would be oh so proud). She'd gotten a concerned call from Emily at around lunchtime, worried about how she was holding up, but honestly, Aria had never felt better. Oh, she'd gotten so much _done_. She'd even managed to tidy her room, well, partially, but that would keep her occupied later. Her mind was refreshed, her body no longer worn and run down, and best of all? Not a single message from A, for the third day in a row. She'd even stopped jumping every time her phone buzzed.

If this was the after effects of a sort of break up, Aria thought, it should happen much more often.

It was like her batteries had been replaced, or something.

She even contemplated going for _another_ run, and was half way out the door when she spotted shining red-headed girl out of the corner of her eye. Twice in one day? That was odd. Oh God, if this was going to be another complete mood crasher then she was going to run in the opposite direction. Too late, the girl had spotted her and came bounding over. Wait, was she going to come _talk_ to Aria? What, did one spilt coffee a friendship make?

"Oh, hey, I was hoping to bump into you again!" _Well, I can't say the same_, thought Aria. "Well, not literally of course!"

"Yeah," Replied Aria, shifting awkwardly on one foot. How long was this conversation going to take? She had things to do. "Um, did you need something?"

"I just wanted to say thanks for you know, helping me out this morning," The girl smiled, flashing those pearly whites again. Seriously, if Aria was going to have another conversation with this girl then she was going to need to invest in some high duty sunglasses. It was like being next to a shining, red-headed angel: every pore of her body seemed to be glowing. Lucky cow. "Not many people would be that willing after I'd just spilt a whole cup of coffee over them,"

"Oh, it was an accident, don't worry," Aria gave her a smile. "And its no problem, I mean, helping you out. Did you, uh, manage to find Jason?"

Aria knew she shouldn't be prying, it was none of her business how Jason knew Pearly Whites over here, but the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Yeah. It was really good to see him, you know? I haven't seen him in _ages_," Seeing Aria's bemused expression, she quickly added. "Oh, we went to college together,"

Damn, why was it always the college girls?

"Oh, great," Aria mused, before adding, in a somewhat defensive manner, as if she had to stake her own claim on Jason. "I was, um, best friends with his sister,"

"Yes, its so sad, isn't it, what happened? I mean, what an awful way to die, so young as well. I feel so sorry for him, he must be going through so much," Aria winced slightly at the first statement. Whoever the girl was, tact was not her strong suit. The girl obviously noticed Aria's discomfort and she hastened to apologise. "Sorry, sorry! Foot in mouth disease. I'll just stop talking now,"

_Oh, I really wish you would, then I could get on with my run_.

"Um, yeah, it was really terrible," Aria stated, softly. "I don't think its been easy for Jason. But he seems slightly happier now,"

"Mmm," The girl replied, as if silently doubting Aria's statement. "I just think he really needs someone to help him through it,"

"Someone like you, maybe?" The words came out of Aria's mouth before she could stop them, and she mentally slapped herself. Her voice was so bitter, it almost sounded like an accusation. Fortunately, the girl appeared not to notice Aria's scorn, or at least didn't comment on it anyhow, and nodded.

"Yes, I suppose so," She replied, her bright eyes wide open, a startling blue that contrasted completely with her flame red hair. Like a human version of Ariel, the little mermaid. She seemed to be so happy and smily that Aria was almost amazed that rainbows didn't start coming up from behind her, and that the birds didn't immediately start singing in her presence. "Why...is he seeing someone else?"

"Not that I know of," Aria muttered. Silence hung in the air for a moment, both girls not quite sure what to make of the other; whether they were a potential friend, or perhaps, a potential rival. For a moment the girl's eyes darkened and Aria swore she could see something quite unsettling in them, but in flash it was gone, and the girl appeared to shine even brighter than usual, as if someone had just turned up the lights.

"Well, anyway, I'll let you go!" The girl stated enthusiastically, so enthusiastically it made Aria cringe. "It was nice to see you, again!"

"Oh, yeah, you too!" Aria replied, quite unenthusiastically. The girl walked away (Well, it was more of a _skip_) and for a moment Aria lingered in her doorway, watching the flame red hair disappear around the corner.

Immediately her mood dampened, like someone had just poured a bucket of water all over her. The eagerness drained out of her, and she became quite colourless once more. Screw the run. All she wanted to do now was curl up in a ball, choke down ice cream, and repeatedly call Ezra until he picked up.

That was twice this girl had killed her good mood.

**/X/**

"Aria, Aria! Wake up!"

"Hmmrph," Aria's voice was muffled by her heavy duvet, which was quickly ripped off her by an unknown person. "Ugh, get off!"

"I knew I should never have believed you when you were fine!"

"Emily?" Aria croaked, straining her eyes against the light that was suddenly infiltrating her room.

"No, its the cookie monster. Who the hell do you think it is?"

"Well, thats definitely Hanna,"

"Aria, your mom's worried about you. She says you went to bed at 6 yesterday and haven't gotten up since," Emily replied, her face twisting in concern.

"So, can't I have a lie in now and then?" Aria mumbled sourly, trying to turn over onto her side and go back to sleep.

"Yes, because a typical lie in involves eating 3 tubs of chocolate chip ice cream and rewatching "Bridget Jones' Diary" over and over again" Hanna snapped, pointing at the empty tubs of ice cream next to her bed. "Now come on, you need to get up,"

"No, sleep,"

"There'll be plenty of time for that later, right now, we're getting you out of here," Hanna's words were met with a large moan from Aria, who desperately tried to claw back her duvet. Emily spied Aria's phone lying next to the bed, and raised her eyebrows.

"Aria...have you been calling Ezra?"

"Oh, you know, only once or twice..." Aria responded, trying to muffle her words with the duvet. "Or, you know, fifteen..."

"Ok, thats it," Hanna demanded, her heels clacking against the hardwood floor as she grabbed Aria's arm, not aware of all the bruises that still littered Aria's arms. Luckily Hanna wasn't that strong and the act wasn't forceful enough to cause any real pain but it still made Aria wince. Her head span from standing up too quickly after hours of lying down. Her legs felt like they were about to collapse. "You are coming outside and seeing the sun again,"

"Come on Aria, you know it'll be good for you," Emily smiled, trying to sound reassuring. "You can't stay cooped up in here all day, again. You need some air,"

"There's air inside," Aria whined, her voice starting to sound like that of a resentful 4 year old.

"_Fresh_ air," Emily repeated.

"Plus a day out will help you forget, you know, about Ezra and the break up and everthing..." Hanna trailed off awkwardly. Honestly, Aria wasn't sure if it was the break up with Ezra that had left her in such a foul, depressed mood. All she knew was it hung over her like a black cloud and she couldn't seem to shift it, no matter what. Dear lord, what was the matter with her?

"What Hanna means to say is some shopping will take your mind off things," Emily stated pointedly, looking at Hanna for back up.

"Yeah! Plus we can go get some of those amazing smoothies they've just started selling at the mall," Hanna added. "Look, Aria we won't take no for an answer,"

"And you know how stubborn Hanna can be, she'll drag you out if she has to,"

"Exactly," Hanna laughed. "So you may as well come willingly, or do I have to attack with you a bottle of dry shampoo?"

"Fine, fine," Grumbled Aria. "Lets go,"

"Don't you want to get changed first?" Aria looked down; she was still wearing her jogging clothes from yesterday which were crumpled all over from having been slept in and Aria spied a few stains that she suspected were from lazy midnight ice cream eating. Her hair felt lank and greasy and hung limply, though she hadn't the energy to wash it.

"Don't want to, don't care,"

Hanna quickly opened her mouth to argue but Emily cut her off before she could say something mildly rude.

"Sure, you look fine Aria," She ignored the look Hanna gave her. "Lets go then!"

"Though you are not taking your phone," Hanna stated firmly. "This is girls only, or you know, friends who are girls only, not girlfriends, not...oh, you know what I mean!"

Aria gave a grunt and followed them out the door, sending them silent hateful looks. Why were friends such a nuisance? Couldn't they see all she wanted to do was curl up and watch repeats of friends on tv? It was Sunday for christ sake. Wasn't that a day when you could lounge around like a homeless person and shun all responsibilities? She didn't even enjoy the Mall that much anyway.

She remained silent for the car journey there as Emily and Hanna discussed the latest episode of 'Gossip Girl' or whatever teen show they were watching, occasionally asking Aria her opinion or trying to include her in the conversation. Aria tried to smile and join in, but honestly, she didn't have much to say. So she just let them talk and when prompted, would give an answer, but she made no real effort to partake in the conversation.

The mall was filled with other preening teenage girls, some of whom would give Aria strange looks because of her dishevelled appearance, but Aria didn't really care. She was quite immune to everyone else's opinions. Many of them looked ridiculous anyway, dressed up to the nines just to do a bit of a shopping, it seemed a bit over the top. But everything seemed ridiculous in her current state of mind.

Immediately Hanna ushered them into one of the shops, squealing in glee over some dresses, while Aria tried to muster some enthusiasm but just couldn't. She nodded at a few of the dresses Hanna seemed to pull out, as Emily suggested a few items, but generally she kept to herself. The girls recognized that she was just in a certain mood, that she wasn't being antagonistic towards them per say and was going to eventually snap out of it. She just needed some coaxing.

"How about this one?" Hanna held up yet another nude coloured peep toe shoe up for inspection. Both Aria and Emily shrugged: Aria out of indifference and Emily out of general cluelessness when it came to shoes. After all, most of the shoes she owned were old trainers.

"Ugh, you guys are no help!" Hanna cried, flinging the shoes back down.

"If I'm going to see any more shoes, then I need sustinence," Emily groaned, just desperate to get out of the shoe store.

"Food break, good idea!" Hanna almost shouted in agreement. "Aria, do you want to come?"

"Uh, why don't you get something and I'll wait here?" Aria suggested, not really wanting to walk all the way to the food court.

"Suit yourself," Shrugged Hanna.

"We'll only be 5 minutes. Burger sound good?" Emily asked, looking Aria direct in the eye.

"Sure," Aria put on a smile. "I'll just wait here,"

"Oh and if anyone tries to buy the last pair of those gold sandals, kill them,"

**/X/**

It had been 5 minutes since Hanna and Emily had disappeared to try and get some food and Aria was seriously considering making a break for it. She was bored out of her mind and she was beginning to get awkward looks from some of the other customers as she loitered by the shoe rack. She had wandered around a bit but none of the shops looked that appealing. She had spotted a book shop but that had simply brought up painful memories of Ezra, and a desperate longing to go back and check to see if he had phoned. Though in a way, it wasn't the absence of Ezra that made her sad, though she did miss him in a way, but the absence of a stable relationship. Aria was a relationship kind of girl; she needed someone to provide a constant source of affection and support, someone other than her parents. Someone who made her feel wanted. Single life didn't really suit Aria all that much.

Tapping her foot against the floor in agitation, her stream of thought was interrupted by someone bounding towards her; someone with bright shiny hair, and deep blue eyes and, dear lord.

It was her.

_Twice in one day_? Aria thought bitterly. _Just my luck_. Seriously, was she following Aria, or something like that?

"Hello again!" The girl cried, just as chipper as usual. It was so high Aria felt her ear-drums wince.

"Hello," Aria replied, her voice at a significantly lower pitch. She was going to try and keep this third conversation as short as possible.

'How are you?" What did this girl think they were now, buddies? Aria didn't even know her name.

"Um, fine..." The girl stared expectedly back at her. "Uh, how are you?"

"Great! Actually..." The girl bit her lip. "There was something I really wanted to ask you. Do you mind if we sit?"

The girl indicated the bright pink couch behind them. Aria sighed inwardly. God, here we go.

"Sure," Aria replied, sitting gently on the couch. She was now greatly regretting not washing her hair and changing clothes before she went out; next to this girl, everything about Aria screamed dull and tired. Her skin looked pale and haggard next to the glowing arms and legs of the girl next to her. She could even spot a few people giving her pitying looks.

"Look, I know this is a strange question to ask as we don't really know each other..." The girl began, before her eyes widened slightly. "In fact, you don't even know my name! I'm Lucy Grant,"

"Aria Montgomery,"

"Great!" Aria wasn't quite sure what was so 'great' about it but she didn't interrupt it. "Well, Aria, how long have you known Jason?"

"Um," She was a bit taken aback by the question. "A couple of years, why?"

"Its just, you're the first person I met in Rosewood who he seemed to be friends with, you know, good friends with, not acquaintances," Since when, thought Aria. "And talking to you the other day I kind of got the impression you cared about him,"

She did?

"Anyway," Lucy continued. "I wanted to ask your advice. I haven't seen Jason in a while, so you know his current state of mind much better than I do, so, as his friend, if I were to go on a date with him, what would you say?"

Aria was sure if she'd been drinking a drink while that question was being asked it would have been sputtered all over the couch. A date, with Jason? Jason and this Lucy girl, with her Little Mermaid hair? For some reason the idea made Aria's throat dry and caused a strange feeling in her chest.

"Um, it depends," Aria replied hesitantly. "Have you asked him out?"

Please say no.

"Yes,"

Bugger.

"And...what did he say?"

"Oh, he said yes, but a bit hesitantly between you and me," Lucy sighed, running her fingers through her glorious hair (Someone needed to sign this girl up for commercials, stat).

"I'm sorry but, I'm not really sure what you're asking then?" Aria asked.

"I mean..." Lucy began, slight trepidation in her voice. "I know we're not close, but how do you think I should play it? Cool, warm? What do you think Jason wants?"

Wow, that drink would definitely be all over the couch right now. She barely knew this girl yet here she was before her, asking Aria for relationship advice of all things. The best thing here would just be to say she had no idea.

"Well..." Aria responded. "...I'd play it cool, like really cool,"

Lie, such a lie.

Lucy nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"Really cool, almost distant if you know what I'm saying?"

_Lie, lie, lie, lie. _

"Ok..."

"I mean, he's been through so much the last thing he wants is someone really clingy, you know? So cool, ice cool, and distant. Don't initiate conversation. Don't scare him off,"

Lucy nodded once again in agreement, clucking her tongue, but honestly, if Aria were to tell the truth for once in her life, she'd actually say Jason needed someone warm, and caring. And someone interesting, someone who didn't say 'great!' in response to everything. Aria had no idea why she was lying to the girl and sabotaging her relationship with Jason, but she was.

"Ok, I get it," Lucy scratched her head. "Yeah, I really wouldn't want to scare him off, phew! Thanks Aria, you've been a great help,"

"You're welcome," Deep down, Aria felt sick with guilt. This girl seemed nice enough, she had no idea why she would ruin her date with Jason. God, she was an awful person, sending this poor girl down some wild goose chase. The idea of Jason finding out what she'd done also made her feel ill. Some part of her would hate to make Jason to feel bad, she just couldn't cope with that.

"Well, I'll see you then. Bye!" Lucy waved, as she wandered into another store.

"What were you doing talking to Ariel from the Little Mermaid?"

Aria quickly spun round to look into the confused eyes of Emily and Jason.

"She, uh, just wanted to know where the toilets are," Aria lied.

"And you had to have a long discussion about it?" Hanna raised her eyebrow.

"...They're a long, difficult route away,"

Emily rolled her eyes though she didn't comment. She suspected Aria wasn't telling her the whole truth but she'd ask later, when they were away from Hanna. Hanna sat next to Aria on the couch and pulled out a hot bag of fries and tossed them to her.

"Hope you're hungry,"

"Starving," Aria smiled, and with that she began to eat.

**/X/**

The first thing she noticed upon arriving home was she had 4 new messages: one was from her dad, asking where she was, another was Ezra, saying they needed to talk, the third was Jason, asking if they could meet and the fourth made her heart stop.

**One new message, blocked number, file attached**.

And immediately without looking, she could tell who it was.

A was back.

* * *

><p>AN: Dun, dun, dun! Non dramatic ending time. Once again, thanks for your reviews and such, you guys are amazing. 100+ reviews, wow! Question of the day; from the promos, what do you think is going to happen in Tuesday's ep?


	11. Suffocation

_**1 New Attachment. **_

With shaking hands, she opened it. It appeared to be a video clip. She pressed play and braced herself for whatever was about to appear on the screen.

Well, apparently she hadn't prepared herself well enough, as, when she was what was being played, she let out a yelp and dropped the phone as if she had been burnt. It was a video, of Aria, taken on the night she encountered those three thugs and was saved by Jason. She watched out of the corner of her eye as the video continued to be played on the floor. That sick son of a bitch. A had been watching the whole time while Aria was being assaulted and had done nothing to stop it. If Jason hadn't had come along, A might have just watched as they...Aria shuddered at the thought. Apparently it was alright to save Spencer from maniac Ian in the bell tower, but it was quite alright to do something like this. But what could she expect from someone who had deliberately run Hanna over.

The video clip wasn't of the whole incident though, just a specific part. It was Aria, running for her life as that goon chased her round the car. The film showed Aria delving into the car in a split second (Was that how short it had been? It had felt much longer) and knocking the man out cold with the torch. The sickening crunch was so loud that even this cheap camera had picked it up and Aria winced. She watched her face freeze in shock as the man crumpled to the ground. Shouts could be heard off camera, which she recognized as Jason shouting for her to get in the car, but the camera remained on the man's lifeless body, slowly zooming in as the man just lay there. _Come on, get up, get up_, Aria whispered to herself but the man didn't move. The camera kept focusing in, and lingered on the man's face for a moment, watching as the blood trickled down his face and forming a puddle on the ground. All of a sudden the video cut off and Aria let out a worried groan.

"No!" She had to know what happened to the man. She had to know if he was ok, or if he'd been badly injured...her stomach flipped at the thought of another Ian scenario, where his body would turn up a week later in a place it wasn't supposed to be. Oh God, oh god, what if she had killed him. This was worse than anything A had had on them before, Ezra, Melissa's ring, even the Jenna incident. This would be lauded over her for the rest of her life. She'd never be able to breathe properly again in full knowledge that she had killed a man. God, she couldn't even say the words. No, no, she had to calm down, she had to calm down...

Her phone beeped and another message came through. Immediately, she knew quite precisely who the sender was.

**_Remind you of anyone? - A_**

Blow to the head, struck cold...god, it was so like Ali's death that A couldn't have planned it better himself. She couldn't freak out, she couldn't panic now; she didn't even know if the man was dead. This could be A just trying to scare her. After all, Ali got up and walked away in the other video they were sent, this could be another of A's cruel tricks, right? The moment after the video ended he might have woken up and just driven away with his other friends. No deaths had been reported, that she was aware of, and a blow to the head would be suspicious right? It would have been on the local news, people would have talked about something like this. Unless the other 2 men were too scared to come forward...God, did they see her do it too? They'd have to have known it was her. Aria tried to convince herself that the man was fine, he was probably just hauled up with a massive headache and hangover, feeling like a fool. He just couldn't come forward to report her as then they'd have to say what they'd been doing and she would claim self defence.

She had to believe this was all a sick joke set up by A. Everything would be fine. She'd see.

Her mother unexpectedly shouted up the stairs and cried that there was someone there to see her. Aria tried to still her shaking hands but to no avail. _What do you have to do to be left alone around here_, Aria thought bitterly, but quickly descended back down the stairs and plaster on another fake smile, to greet what was no doubt one of her father's college associates, sitting in the living room. Hopefully this meeting would be quick; her heart was still pounding in her chest and her lungs felt crushed, like she couldn't breathe. She didn't know how long she could talk to whoever her mom or dad had brought over. However, on arriving, she found that, upon seeing just who was sitting down, she didn't need to fake a smile; a natural one spread to her cheeks without her even realizing it.

Jason.

"Hey," He spoke softly, getting up to greet her.

"Hey," She replied, trying to steady her shaky voice, but still feeling a familiar fluttering sensation in the very pit of her stomach. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I..." He began, before they both looked over to where Ella Montgomery was still loitering in the doorway. Seeing their expressions, she laughed and began to turn away.

"I'll leave you two in peace, shall I?" There was a knowing look in her eye that Aria couldn't place but before she could figure it out, her mom disappeared around the corner, and she turned back to Jason.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, you know, after earlier this week," His voice was gentle, as if speaking to a frightened child. "I was going to come earlier but..."

"Shh," Aria stopped him, throwing a quick suspicious look around. "My parents still don't know anything about that. Lets go outside and talk,"

"Like I was saying," Jason continued, as they stepped out onto the front porch. "I was going to come check on you earlier but...some stuff came up,"

_Some stuff with Lucy_? Aria thought, before she could stop herself. She shouldn't care who Jason associated with, it was his business. Right?

"I'm fine," She replied, though she was painfully aware that under the harsh lights of the front porch and with her unwashed hair and greasy tracksuit, she didn't look it. Suddenly she felt incredibly self-conscious. It didn't help that her hands were still shaking, and her face was most likely ashen with fear. "Really. I was a bit shaken up before, but I'm fine now,"

"You sure?" He asked, with a slight tinge of disbelief. "I mean, after what happened, its understandable that anyone would be shaken up,"

"Really, Jason," Aria tried to put on a reassuring tone, but it was clearly a lie. "I've had a couple of days sleep and school to take my mind off it. Its ok,"

"Aria, your hands are shaking," Jason stated, his voice now becoming more concerned. "And you look like you've just seen a ghost,"

"Its just..." She now couldn't hide the quivers in her voice, like a child that was trying not to cry. "Um...I'm just a bit scared, thats all,"

"Aria, they're not going to come back and hurt you again. I _promise_ you,"

She froze slightly, looking into his eyes and her hands trembled even more. She hadn't even considered that, seeing as there were people out there that were much scarier than those men. And, as Spencer would have her believe, one of those people was standing in front of her right now. But she didn't feel scared of Jason, she had never really felt scared of Jason. Intimidated, yes, but never truly scared. He was so nice and...vulnerable. Standing in front of him, right now, it was hard to see what Spencer found so terrifying.

"Its not that," She spoke, trying to speak with conviction. "Its just, I've been thinking about that man I hit and..."

"Aria," Jason replied firmly, steadying her shaking body. "I told you. You couldn't knock someone out if you tried,"

"But with all that adrenaline..."

"Aria, did you see the size of that man, compared to your flimsy little torch? That was never going to do a whole lot of damage. Plus the man was so drunk, I'm sure if you'd given him even a little push he would have fallen over," He smiled, his voice the gentlest Aria had ever heard it but Aria still didn't feel reassured.

"But you haven't heard anything on the news, have you? Or from the police, or maybe the neighbours..."

"No, Aria, I haven't," He stated, a little stronger now. "You're going to worry yourself to death if you think like this. Have you told anyone else?"

"I told Emily," She said hesitantly. "Its just, I had to tell someone or I'd have gone insane..."

"No, thats good," He replied. "If I've learnt anything from counselling its that talking about your problems really helps,"

"And who do you talk your problems over with?" Aria asked curiously, searching his face for an answer. "Lucy?"

As the words left her mouth she mentally slapped herself. There was nothing worse than foot in mouth syndrome. Jason raised his eyebrows, slightly stunned by her questions. Her cheeks flamed red in embarrassment.

"How do you know Lucy?" His tone had hardened, all the gentleness it had previously had vanished. Clearly, she was prying now.

"Oh, you know, neighbourhood gossip, people talk if a pretty girl is spotted" She tried to keep her tone light, but it was flailing. God, she was embarrassed. "Plus, I kind of gave her directions to your house,"

"Oh," There was silence.

"She said you guys went to college together?" Aria asked awkwardly, inwardly wishing the ground would swallow her up right there and then.

"Yeah we had a few classes together," His voice was deliberately evasive.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Aria apologised, rubbing her forehead. "Its just I met her, and she seems...nice, that all,"

As long as you wear sunglasses when talking to her.

"She's ok," Jason shrugged, still just as nonchalant. Something inside made Aria's heart leap ever so slightly but she wasn't sure why. What was she now, official first date saboteur or something? She still felt quite guilty about the terrible advice she had given Lucy yesterday. Between Jason's indifference and Lucy following Aria's advice and staying distant, that was going to be one frosty date.

Fantastic.

"Anyway!" Aria tried to make her voice sound chipper but once again, couldn't quite muster it. "Thanks for stopping by, I better go back inside,"

"Good night Aria,"

"Night," She called quickly and practically dashed back inside the house, her cheeks bright red. She slammed the door and leaned against it with a sigh, her skin still cold from the night air.

"Aria-"

"Ah!" Aria jumped up quickly and just now spotted her mother on the stairs, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"Its just, you scared me thats all," Aria said, trying to hide her discomfort.

"Ok," Ella laughed, sipping some coffee. "Aria can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure," Aria replied, trying to not appear frightened.

"Is there something going on between you and Jason DiLaurentis?"

"What?" Aria's voice rose slightly higher than usual in indignation. "No, mom, no,"

"Now, Aria, you know you can't hide things from me, I'm your mother, I can always tell. You had that same smile on your face when he walked through the door as when your dad used to come every fortnight from his business trips with new and exciting gifts for you and Mike,"

"Oh I remember those! I loved it when he bought me jewellery, I think I still have a few of the bracelets,"

"Aria," Her mom responded sternly. "Don't change the subject,"

"No, mom, I swear," Aria replied, keeping a blank face. "That would just be, ew, gross. He's Ali's brother,"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry I asked," Ella gave her daughter a peck on the cheek. "I believe you, no need to get so defensive,"

"I'm not..." Aria sighed. "Anyway, no, there's nothing 'going on' between me and Jason DiLaurentis, of all people,"

"So what was he over for?"

"Um," Aria tried to rack up an excuse in her brain. "He, uh, wanted to...borrow my...straighteners,"

Damn, Aria you need to work on your lying skills. Ella raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Are you telling me Jason DiLaurentis came over at 7 o'clock at night to borrow your _hair straighteners_?"

"Oh yeah, his, um...broke,"Aria shrugged. "Did you not see his hair just then? Complete mess. And how else do you think it stays so silky smooth? "

Oh God, Aria thought, now my mom probably thinks Jason is my camp BFF or something like that.

"Well, did you give them to him?"

"No, because I need them," She replied. "For tomorrow, I mean,"

"Couldn't you lend them to him for 5 minutes?" Ella asked, determined to catch her daughter out on her lie.

"No, because...I'm going for a shower now and I'll need them after that," Ella opened her mouth to ask another question but Aria quickly interjected. "In fact, I should probably shower now before Dad steams up the place so, good night!"

And with that she sprinted up the stairs, not giving her mother the chance to interrogate her some more. She'd had enough of that for one day, thanks.

**/X/**

Aria stepped out from the hot shower and felt the cold air brush past her aflame skin. Her whole body felt crushed, her lungs crying desperately out for air but every time she tried to take a breath it just felt like she was suffocating that little bit more. Her heart was pounding louder than ever, and it felt like it was slamming into her chest, causing her to double over in pain. The only thing she could dwell on right now was 'breathe', 'breathe' and she might make through the next 5 seconds.

She guessed this was a panic attack, though she had never experienced one before, and her mind attempted to remain rational but all she could think about was the blood that felt like it was burning through her skin. Yet through all this pain she didn't feel the need to cry. She didn't see the point of letting her emotions overpower her when the suffering was already doing a better task of it. The floor now felt even icier against her feet as she nearly collapsed in a panting heap on the floor. Her stomach swirled with nausea, and she raised herself up over the sink.

Aria threw up in the sink, before her legs collapsed underneath her and she fell to the floor, her mouth still burning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Poor Aria! Anyway, I thought I'd get this up before this evening's ep. Thanks once again for all the reviews, it means a lot! And more Jason/Aria time this chapter, oh yeah.

I checked Marlene King's twitter out once more, to see if I could find some new spoilers, but apparently there will be a sweater off between Ezra and Jason. Brace yourselves. Though infuriatingly we all know who is going to win, as on Twitter there are like 10 die hard Ezria shippers who present this idea that EVERYBODY is Aria/Ezra, though if you search around the rest of the internet many people are getting bored with them. Its kind of like, it seems on twitter that all of us want Aria/Ezra, when it really is not the case. Anyway, rant over. Sorry guys!


	12. Confusion

Aria lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to calm herself down after her mini panic attack. Fortunately neither of her parents had heard a thing while she was upstairs, bringing up leftovers of lunch, otherwise even more questions would have been asked. Her heart was still racing slightly, but after lying on the bathroom floor for about 10 minutes, she had managed to stand on her shaking legs and quickly make her way to her room and collapse on her bed. As if routine, she had tried calling Ezra again, her hands still unsteady. She had expected it to go straight to voice mail once more, having made the phone call more out of habit and the feeling that that was what you should do, and had jumped slightly when the phone clicked and a voice came through.

"Aria?"

"Oh, Ezra, hey," She honestly hadn't expected him to pick up and thus was at a loss at what to actually say to him. Aria hadn't mentally prepared herself for this. "I just, was calling, you know, about..." She trailed off.

"About the fact we need to talk, yeah," Ezra answered and she gave a sigh of relief. Sure, she could run with that. "I was thinking the same,"

"Ok. Look can I be blunt?" Aria figured there was no discreet way of having this conversation. "Where do we stand, right now? Us two, I mean,"

There was silence on the other side, before an audible sigh broke through.

"I don't know Aria, but what I do know is that we can't do this over the phone,"

Aria nodded before remembering that this was a telephone conversation and there was no way for Ezra to see her.

"Yeah, I suppose so," She mumbled. "Do you want to meet up then, or go somewhere, or..."

"I'm not finishing here at Hollis until around 5:30 so do you want to come over after school?"

"Um, sure, that sounds good," Aria replied, wondering how things ever got this awkward between her and Ezra. A few months ago she thought they were soulmates, now...

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Ezra stated, somewhat tentatively.

"Tomorrow, Ok," Aria said, making a mental note to not forget. "Bye Ezra,"

"Bye Aria,"

As Aria threw herself back down on the bed, not really caring whether she ever got up again, she questioned what Ezra's motives were. Was he going to try and win her back? Would this be the thing that would make him finally step up his game and they'd all live happily ever after? Somehow, she doubted it. She didn't even know if she wanted that anymore. But the idea of him really breaking up with her for good caused her to break out in a sweat. She was stuck in a complete catch 22; couldn't live with him, couldn't live without him. She'd thought Ezra had been her rock for the past few months, the one thing keeping her sane, but in retrospect perhaps he really was the stem of many of her problems. Perhaps a life without boys would be the best way to go; at least it would be one less way A could mess with her (Look at what they had done to poor Emily).

There was nothing she could really do now; she could toss and turn all night about which direction to take or she could have an early night, get up well rested, and go to school and try to avoid thinking about the impending meeting which could make or break her relationship. The latter of course would be the more sensible option, but knowing Aria, inevitably she'd be up all night contemplating what was going to happen tomorrow.

She also felt quite uneasy about how her talk with Jason had ended. Why had she brought that up? Now he probably thought she was no better than the rest of the leeches in Rosewood, the ones she herself had previously blasted and hoped would move on to the 'next tragedy'. And if, or when she should say, he found out what she had said to Lucy, he might never speak to her again. And the idea of that happening made her feel even more nauseous. Why though? She'd be hard pressed to call them 'friends', he was Ali's older brother for Christ's sake, so why did him being defensive and somewhat mad at her make her feel so guilty? Who knows. Her brain immediately recalled the conversation she'd had with the girls last week, were she had been teased for '_liking_' Jason DiLaurentis.

No, that couldn't be true, it was to ridiculous.

_But your mom thought you were together and you tried to sabotage his first date, _her brain argued.

That's just because my mom is clueless and I just have irrational of girls that look like cartoon characters, Aria justified in her head. There were rational explanations for everything; she did not 'like' Jason DiLaurentis, or at least, not like _that_.

_Or do you_?_ You did dream about him_...

No, no, no, no she repeated mentally, almost as if in a trance. Clearly she was just suffering from severe exhaustion, so much so that her brain was becoming delusional, because there was no way any of this was actually _true_ (Or at least dear God she hoped not).

Resolving that the only way to get rid of the niggling voice in her head was to just go to sleep and forget about tomorrow, Aria turned off the light and climbed under the duvet, squeezing her eyes shut in order to block out her brain.

She really needed to get some sleep.

**/X/**

"Are you nervous?"

Aria turned around to see a concerned Spencer leaning against her locker. Aria had earlier in the day confessed all about her meeting with Ezra later, and naturally the girls rallied round for support.

"A bit," Aria sighed. "I just, I really have no idea how its going to go,"

"Everything's going to be fine Aria," Spencer caressed Aria's shoulder in a comforting way. "I'm sure he's going to realize what an idiot he's been, take you in his arms and run out screaming 'Aria's my girlfriend!'

Aria gave a small laugh at the image before her expression dampened again.

"But what if..." She started meekly, not quite sure how to say what she was about to say. "What if I'm not so sure I want to get back together with him?"

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Do you want to break up with him?"

"No, I don't want that either its just..." Aria let out a loud sigh. "I don't know. I don't know what I want, to be honest,"

"Well, whatever you decide, we'll stand by you," Spencer declared, pulling her friend into a hug, and act Aria gladly reciprocated.

"Thanks," Aria smiled, suddenly feeling guilty about all the times she had thought negatively of Spencer. When you needed her, she was always there. "Its just, going to be strange whatever happens, I guess,"

"It always is. But look, if you want to take your mind off things, there's that Charity Ball this weekend that my dad is on the board of and I have extra tickets," Spencer sang, twirling Aria around, causing her friend to laugh.

"I'd love to but what about Toby?"

"He's not really welcomed at these sorts of things," Spencer's face suddenly became rather downcast and sour. "Apparently some of the others on the board didn't think it was fitting that 'someone like Toby Cavanaugh' attend this sort of event,"

"Aw, Spence I'm sorry,"

"Its fine, I just feel worse for him, you know?" She shrugged. "Anyway, between you and Mr. Fitz being up in the air, Hanna pining over Caleb, me without a date and Emily still not talking to Samara, there's enough relationship drama to last us a life time, so why don't we all go as a 4? Dance, take out minds off things, boys, _A,_"

Aria shuddered slightly at the mention of A but didn't let on. A still hadn't contacted her since sending her the video yesterday; no doubt they were letting her stew for a bit, letting her feel she was safe, before hitting her with something else. And that something else was going to be big, she could just feel it.

"So you in?" Spencer asked, regaining her previous jovial attitude.

"Definitely," Aria managed a smile. Maybe a night out was a good thing after all.

"Great! So, Saturday, my place, say 6:30?"

"Sounds perfect," Aria replied, before taking a glance at her watch. 4:45. She'd better leave soon, and just get this over and done with. "I think I'm going to head over to Hollis now,"

"Ok," Spencer stated, not quite sure what to say. "Call me, afterwards,"

"Sure," Aria called over her shoulder, disappearing down the corridor. It would usually take her roughly 15 minutes to get to the Hollis campus by bus, but this time it felt much longer, with a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. Would Ezra be angry, sad? Did he think this relationship was worth the hassle? Well, she supposed she'd find out when she got there.

She lingered outside of the door to his office for a moment, contemplating if she should just blow the whole thing off, and run away. That would be the easiest short term solution. But no, she wasn't going to be a child. She'd have to face this head on. Normally she wandered on in, not bothering to knock, but today she rapped softly against the door, hoping he was alone.

A few seconds later, Ezra opened the door, looking and feeling just as awkward as she did.

"Come in," He said, his voice still full of warmth. Ok, so he wasn't strictly angry with her.

"Thanks for meeting me," She started, quite unsure of what to say.

"Its, um, no problem. You know I always have time for you Aria," He replied softly. She smiled. He reached out to take her hand but instinctively she took a step back. He winced, as if he'd been slapped.

"I'm sorry its just..." Aria began, searching her mind for the right words to use. "I don't know which direction we should go, right now,"

"Me neither,"

"Its not that I want to break up with you its just...I don't feel I can jump straight back in to playing happy families again. There's too much going on here," She gestured around them. "To pretend everything's fine,"

"You're right," He sighed, sitting down on his desk. "Aria you know I love you, and I'll always be here for you, but maybe you're right, we do need some time off, to re-evaluate this relationship and...see if we want to continue with it,"

There was a heavy silence.

"So, a break?" She replied nervously. "Like a two week break to re-evaluate as you said, then we'll meet again after two weeks to talk again?"

"A break it is then," He said sadly.

"Look, Ezra you know I love you too, but I just can't go on like this. Its too painful," She gave him a kiss on the forehead. "So I'll see you in two weeks,"

"In two weeks,"

She glanced back at him as she headed out the door, looking quickly away again to avoid his wounded expressions. There were no goodbyes or farewells, just silence as she exited the Hollis building, ignoring Jackie who greeted her from across the campus. She didn't care how it came off, she just wanted to be left alone.

Not saying a word, Aria wondered into a nearby park, sat down on one on the benches, and burst into uncontrollable tears.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: THAT LAST EPISODE. It was the best episode of Season 2 by far but God, my shipper heart is breaking. WHEN HE WAS SITTING ON THE PORCH ALL ALONE. I swear if that is the end of 'Jaria' I'm going to be super pissed. Though I suppose there will be the reveal of the "Jason thing" in 2x12, which will be exciting. Though Aria, duuuuude, if the only reason your boyfriend wants to go public with you is because he's threatened by another guy then there's problems in your relationship. (Plus I winced when Ezra made the 'the teachers are hands on' joke because its like HAVE SOME DECORUM, SHE IS JUST 16, WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK, LOLITA) And I agree with that Ella said, even if most Ezria shippers said she was over-reacting. It is a complete breach of trust and power, why do you think student-teacher relationships are illegal? /Rant.

Anyway, a relatively short filler chapter just to tide things over to the next one, where things are going down. Once again, thank you for all the reviews and alerts! You guys are wonderful, you really are.

PLUS PLUS PLUS Drew just said this in an interview which reignites my hope in this ship.

**Insider: What can you tease about these final few summer season episodes?**  
>Drew: Things between Jason and Aria heat up and after the darkroom incident — and her friends are not happy about it. But like I said, he truly does care for her. Jason truly does have feelings for Aria. He's not trying to do anything but get to know her and I think everyone is very suspicious of that. Everyone wants Aria to snap out of it and see that Jason is a bad guy. He could have murdered his sister, but we'll see that he has motives for everything he's doing and the choices he's made. <strong>You'll see that he's more misunderstood than malevolent – he might even be trustworthy.<strong>


	13. Passion

_"'What' and 'If are two words as non-threatening as words can be,_  
><em>but put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life; 'What if...<strong>what if<strong>"_

* * *

><p>"I swear it was just two weeks ago all of us were in steady relationships," Hanna sighed, munching on another prawn. "Now look at us, 4 saddos at a dance with no one to dance with,"<p>

"Hey! I'm still in a relationship!" Spencer snapped. "Anyway, tonight's not about being negative. You can mope around all you want but I want to dance and have fun. We've been so stressed about A recently that we deserve a night out,"

"Spencer's right," Emily urged, always the optimist. "Why do we need boyfriends or girlfriends anyway? They're just extra hassle and stress,"

Aria made a non-comittal 'Mm' sound to indicate that she agreed, but honestly, she knew deep down that regardless if she had a boyfriend or not, most nights ended up with hassle and stress. That was just Rosewood for you, even the most innocent nights ended up with someone in tears or someone being torn a new one.

"Exactly," Spencer nodded. "Now, if you two Sad Sallys just want to mope, Em and I are going to go dance,"

"Great idea," Emily laughed, nodding at Hanna and Aria. "You guys want to join us?"

"I think I need another glass of champagne before I can even think about dancing," Hanna scoffed, and Aria knew very well there was probably a full flask of some sort of spirit in her bright pink satin clutch.

"Aria?"

"I'll join you guys in a sec," Aria offered a faint smile. She was well aware that she wasn't the picture of happiness and enthusiasm but all her friends acknowledged that all Aria needed was some time. She'd hit the dance floor when she wanted to.

"Do you want a little touch up?" A few seconds after Spencer and Emily disappeared, Hanna pulled out a silver flask from her bag. Knew it, thought Aria. She quickly shook her head.

"No, I'm good thanks,"

"Are you sure? Trust me, its going to make this night much more fun," Hanna stared at Aria for a moment before pushing the flask into her hand. Aria paused, then took a large swig of whatever was in the flask. It was some horrible, cheap alcohol that made Aria's throat burn but for a second it numbed the pain and she could see precisely what Hanna was talking about.

"Woah, Aria, slow down, you don't need to take that much," Hanna laughed, snatching back her flask. "Pace yourself,"

"Sorry," Aria mumbled, her head starting to spin. "Its just...I really needed that,"

"I can tell," Hanna teased, putting the flask back in her bag, before her eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, is that Jason?"

Aria quickly looked over to the entrance where sure enough, Jason DiLaurentis had just arrived, and was lingering in the doorway. He looked smart, all decked out in his suit and tie, but from the expression on his face she could tell he was reluctant to be here, and she guessed he didn't really like any of the people there.

"What do you think he's doing here?" Hanna asked. Aria shrugged.

"Well his mom is, or was, important in Rosewood so I'm guessing they though it would be polite to invite him?" Aria guessed, not really sure why he would actually turn up though. He spotted her from across the room and waved, and she waved back, giving a little smile.

"Ok, you so did not just do that!" Hanna raised an eyebrow, while Aria's brow furrowed with confusion. "You and Ezra haven't even broken up and you're flirting with Jason DiLaurentis?"

"I was not flirting! He waved so I waved back, that's all," Aria stated defensively.

"Yes, except most people don't wave like this," Hanna mimed fluttering her eyelashes and blowing kisses, earning her a punch in the arm from Aria.

"Shut up!" Aria laughed. "I did not do that,"

"Yes, you did! You might as well have held up a sign saying 'Take me, I'm yours'," Hanna rubbed her shoulder. "Just don't let Spencer see you crushing on Jason DiLaurentis or she'll lock you in the broom cupboard all night,"

"Just shut up and give me some more alcohol," Aria giggled as Hanna handed her another swig of the drink. Gradually her burdens lessoned, and the heavy feeling that had been weighing her down for months slowly disappeared, leaving her feeling as light as a feather. She knew she'd come crashing down in the morning once more, for a couple of hours she could escape. It was nice. Especially since A had been leaving her cryptic messages all throughout the week, not quite giving any demands just yet but slowly twisting Aria's mind with fear and confusion. After all, it was what A did best. "You want to join Spencer and Em on the dancefloor?"

"As long as you can still stand!" Hanna giggled, also delirious with intoxication. Aria was aware they were being given a few curious looks by those standing near by, but it was meaningless now. After all, two drunk girls in Rosewood was nothing new. Though wasn't that Professor Montgomery's daughter?

Aria and Hanna mingled with others on the dancefloor, occasionally 'whooping' quite loudly and clutching each other tightly as they giggled. Aria was sure somewhere Spencer and Emily were rolling their eyes and a small frown was on their faces but she couldn't care less. More, wailed her spoiled inner child. Dance and drink the night away! That will surely put all thoughts of Ezra away for good.

It continued like that for about an hour, as they moved across the floor, bumping into various others as the went, but to Aria it felt like minutes. Soon she began to sense how painful her feet felt in her tight high heels (She really did need the extra height) and her brow was beginning to sweat from the heat. She needed air, stat. She pulled away from Hanna, mumbling something about 'needing to go outside', before making her way across the dancefloor in a manner that must have been reminiscent of Bambi learning to walk. She pulled open the two side doors and found a handful of people outside already, taking cigarette breaks and a few couples arguing in hushed voices, not wanting to be seen.

She inhaled deeply, feeling the cool air rush to her lungs but she was suddenly painfully aware how cold it was out here, standing in her short dress that barely reached her knees. Aria looked around, casually glancing at all the different faces, before she saw one she knew _very_ well.

"Jason!"

Her voice was surprisingly loud and earned her glares from the people around her, whose peace she had disturbed. She bounded over to him, still unsteady on her high heel clad feet. Jason appeared startled for some reason, looking Aria up and down, before looking away again. In her intoxicated state, Aria made a mental note of just how _good_ Jason looked. The bruises on his face had faded and he had clearly covered them up with some concealer, so they were barely visible.

"Hello Aria," He replied, as smooth as ever. She continued to beam, not quite sure what was making her so happy but she was going to ride it out, whatever it was. Suddenly, her good mood dissipated and her expression became rather nervous, and timid.

"Look, Jason, I'm really sorry about what I said to you before," She looked down at her shoes on the pavement, partially from not wanting to look him in the face but also because she was finding it very difficult to keep her balance right now. "If you want to go out with the little mermaid, that's your business, not mine..."

"The Little Mermaid?" Jason was eyeing her as if she had gone insane. "Oh...you mean Lucy,"

He gave a loud laugh, one Aria had never heard before. Good thing he hadn't taken offense at the nickname, but admittedly it was better than some of the other she had created in her head...

"Exactly! Anyway, I know its none of my business, so I'm sorry. Forgive me, please?" She stuck out her bottom lip in mock apology; this earned another laugh.

"I forgive you Aria," He smiled, in slightly dismay at how enthusiastic she was about, well, everything. It was like someone had taken the normal Aria and amplified her.

"Great!" She beamed, and on impulse threw her hands round his neck in a semi-hug. Or at least, that was what it was supposed to be, but she tripped, breaking the heel of one of her shoes and tumbled into him, throwing them both back against the wall.

"Oww," She whined, ignoring her proximity to Jason, and bent down to examine her shoe. "Oh, I loved this pair,"

Jason coughed and, even in her drunken state, she realized how dodgy this must look, her bending down in front of him, and she quickly removed her shoes, before snapping back up again. Strangely enough she didn't find pity or disdain or anything like that on Jason's face, but more concern, care. She hated pity, and the abundance of it she had received recently. It was such a weak emotion, as if you couldn't muster up enough care nor contempt. Something you offer to those who are weak, helpless, who you don't have the strength to hold to contempt nor do you have the bravery to love. It was made people whisper as she walked down the corridor, passing concerned tones about Mike and Aria but didn't have the courage to say anything to her or do anything about it.

He steadied her with one hand and something about the gesture made her shiver. But not in a bad, terrified way; it made her spine turn to custard and she got goose pimples all over. Jason immediately withdrew his hand, mistaking her shivers and stirrings as something which was caused by the cold weather and immediately shrugged off his dinner jacket and handed it to her.

"Here, take it," He stated, wrapping it around her shoulders. "You need it more than I do,"

She was aware what a sorry sight she must look, with the oversized dinner jacket, bare muddy feet, broken shoes in one hand, and swaying from the alcohol. But still he didn't look at her with pity, or 'Oh, that poor girl she's been through so much'. He treated Aria as Aria and that would be something she would forever respect.

"Ugh, I hate the smell of cigarette smoke," She wrinkled her nose in disgust, nodding her head at a couple down in front, who were sharing a lit cigarette. "Alison made me try one once and I nearly vomited,"

"Wait, Ali did?"

"Mhm," She nodded, her eyelashes fluttering. "Well, just me, when we were alone one time. I think they were probably one of yours,"

There was silence for a moment as Jason didn't reply, just simply taking in Aria's words.

"Then my dad used to smoke his pipe, god, it drove my mom crazy and he promised he'd stop, just for her," She continued, laughing. "Though of course, like he'd done about everything else, he lied, and used to come home reeking of smoke. Well, that's my dad for you! One big joker,"

She continued to laugh, though it had turned quite bitter.

"Aria-" Jason tried to interrupt, but Aria kept going, her voice getting louder.

"And my mom! Well of course, she's her number one priority," Her voice verged on hysterics. In this state, she couldn't control her emotions. "That's the reason she wanted my dad to stop. Not because it might harm us, or him, but because she didn't like him doing it. And if she doesn't like something, well..."

"Aria, shh..." Jason rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"But that's my family, we're all selfish. Dad's selfish, mom's selfish, Mike's selfish, I'm selfish...I'm the worst of all..."

"You're not a bad person, Aria, how many times do I have to tell you that? Mike's problems, and you're dad's problems, and you're mom's problems, they're not your fault,"

"Yeah, well, you're not a bad person either," She sniffed. He looked slightly taken aback at her words, as if no one had ever said that to him directly. "You're mom and dad's problems aren't your fault either,"

"Yeah, well, my family's a little different from yours, Aria," He laughed, but she could sense a touch of sadness in it.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was his belief in her. But for some reason, without hesitation, she leant up and put her lips on his. Her barely sober mind was yelling at her but she didn't care. Clearly he hadn't been expecting _that_, as he froze, but within a few seconds began to reciprocate, and he was so warm and hard and oh her mind started to spin. She was aware that he was slightly rougher, more passionate than Ezra but since when was that a problem? A shudder ran through her and her drunken body tingled like mad. She closed her eyes as he touched her hip, slightly hesitantly, still unsure of what how far he could go. Instinctively Aria brought her hands up, resting them on his chest. They continued like that for a few seconds, lips and tongues wrestling before, unexpectedly, Jason pulled away.

Immediately Aria's cheeks flushed pink and they stared at each other for a second, slightly out of breath, speechless. This was obviously embarrassing for both of them, and Aria didn't even make excuses to leave, just turned around (Still wobbling slightly), and ran back into the hall, her head swimming. Even in her drunken state she could only come to one conclusion.

Oh God, she thought,_ I like Jason DiLaurentis_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: FINALLY. Finally they kissed. My apologies that this is another short chapter but I just had to get it out there.

And just ugh, reading your reviews (Thank you again :D You guys are awesome) I agree with most of you about the Jason thing. I felt so bad for him there, sitting on the porch. Ever since he came back to Rosewood he's been misunderstood and judged, all of the while dealing with the guilt that he might have killed his sister, and all he wants to do is ~be loved and accepted, and one girl does that, one girl understands, then she turns around and reveals she's in a relationship with someone else. And kisses that guy on Jason's porch (WHAT A DOUCHEY MOVE, ARIA) and Jason just lets her go, because like Drew said, he really does care about her, and he knows its the right thing to do.

I am way too invested in this show, obviously.


	14. Intoxication

Oh God, oh god, oh god. What had she done?

Her head span as she stumbled back into the ballroom, going so quickly her drunken head had started to spin. That really wasn't a part of the plan. Had she really _kissed_ Jason DiLaurentis? And it was only a few days after she had gone on her break with Ezra as well. God, she was no worse than her dad. She could almost hear Ali laughing in scorn, with that bitter edge that always came to her voice when you disobeyed her.

"_My brother, really, Aria? I thought you more original than that_,"

Why was the room spinning now? Everyone seemed to blur and Aria's feet seemed to stumble, and before she knew it she fell back, her bum hitting the floor with a bang. Immediately a concerned Spencer rushed over to her, propping Aria up by the shoulder.

"Aria, are you OK? Did you break anything,"

"Only my dignity," Aria mumbled, not even trying to hide the fact that her words were complete slurred.

"Aria?" Emily called, rushing over. "You look really ill,"

"Lets sit you down," Spencer ordered, more to herself, and moved Aria over so she could sit on one of the side benches. Hanna, who had been 'deeply' engrossed in conversation with an attractive 19 year old waiter, quickly came over, having noticed her friends gathering round. "Hanna, how much did you give Aria to drink?"

"Why do you think it was me?"

All 3 girls turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Ok, so I gave her some vodka, but she downed it all quickly before I could stop her!"

Spencer gave a small huff and propped Aria's head up.

"We should probably go home now, anyway," Emily sighed. "I hate wearing heels,"

"Yeah, good idea," Spencer nodded, still glaring slightly at Hanna. "Okay Aria, we're taking you home, because you're really, really drunk,"

"No need to talk to me like I'm 10," Aria snapped, attempting to get back on her feet but just falling back onto the bench. "And I only had a little bit of whatever Hanna had,"

"Aria," Emily replied, looking down at her with a frown. "We're going ho...wait, why are your shoes off?"

"I fell over and broke the heel," Aria muttered, ignoring their 'told you so' looks.

"Ok, well, I'm tired, Emily wants to get out of her shoes, you're already out of your shoes and falling over on the floor and in about 5 minutes Hanna's probably going to jump on that waiter, so we're leaving, whether you like it or not," Spencer stated sternly, hoisting Aria by the shoulders up onto her bare feet. "Now do you think you can make it to the door without falling over?"

"Ha ha,"

"Ok, well, I think my parents are going to stay on for a bit but I'm just going to get my car keys from them. You guys can go get in the car,"

Deep down, Aria knew she wasn't all that drunk; she'd had much more than a shots of vodka before and still remained on her feet. It was just easier to blame her restlessness on the alcohol. That of course was the problem. It wasn't the alcohol at all that was making her feel light and giddy and slightly out of her wits. It was the fact that she had...Nope, she wasn't going to think it, nor say it. He would probably regret it in the morning too, and she'd spend the next year avoiding him and having awkward conversations before she escaped off to college and would never have to see him again.

Yep, sounded like a plan.

But what if _she_ didn't regret it? It had been a pretty damn good kiss after all. But the worst part about it was once again she couldn't tell anyone about it. Unlike with Ezra, her parents would probably be supportive, but her friends? They still considered Jason suspicious, a 'creep' and always would be, as Emily had put it. No, it wouldn't work it out. Damn, why couldn't she develop feelings for some normal 17 year old guy? Not a teacher, not her best friend's older brother but some guy who played waterpolo and whose biggest problem was that he couldn't spell 'dumbbell'.

Where was Sean when you needed him?

"Do you think we can take Aria home like this?" Emily asked, getting into the back of Spencer's range rover. Spencer shook her head, giving Aria the once over.

"Not in the state she's in,"

"Hey, I resent that!" There was quiet in the car as they all turned to stare at Aria. "Ok, you're right,"

"We can't take her home to mine as you know my mom will _flip_," Hanna stated, leaning her head on Emily's shoulder. "...Plus she'll probably figure out it was me that gave it to her,"

"Aren't you a great friend," Spencer laughed, pulling the car into reverse. "My parents are still here so I can take Aria to mine and they'll be none the wiser,"

"Apart from when she wakes up with a wicked hangover," Emily teased, prodding Aria in the back.

"Thanks guys," Aria groaned, rubbing her forehead. She could already feel the warmth and dizziness of the alcohol fading away, only to be left with a brutal headache and a painful awareness of quite precisely what she'd done that evening. "I can already feel it coming along. Seriously, what kind of vodka was that Hanna?"

"Just some stuff my mom had lying around," Hanna shrugged. "Oh did Aria tell you we saw Jason DiLaurentis there? And that Aria was the biggest flirt in the world?"

Oh, she did more than see him, Aria mentally sighed. Spencer's head snapped round quick as lightning.

"What?"

"I did not, Hanna's just exaggerating," Aria turned around and slapped Hanna's knee. She really didn't need the Spanish Inquisition from Spencer right now about Jason as well, alcohol plus sleepover plus Aria's knowledge of her secret kiss with Jason did not bode well. "Thanks for that, Han,"

"You did! With all your waving and batting of eyelashes," Hanna laughed, imitating Aria to Emily.

"I didn't even speak to him!" Aria cried out in indignation. "...Much,"

"Wait, you talked to him? In your drunken state?" Spencer asked, her voice getting higher and higher. "What did you say?"

"Okay, Spence you're really going to have to let this Jason thing go..."

"Aria, what did he say?"

"We just said 'hi', that's all," Aria sighed. Her conversations with Jason weren't anybody else's business but her friends almost always forced the details out of her. "I went outside for some fresh air, and he was there, so to be polite I said hello,"

"And that's all?"

"...Ooh, is that a deer over there..."

"Aria, don't change the subject," Spencer huffed, swerving round the corner.

"Did I really look like I was in the mood to be having deep intellectual conversations?" Aria snapped. "...Sorry. Its just I hate getting the whole 20 questions routine every time I even look at the guy,"

"Do you really blame us?" Emily said from the back. "Considering your feelings for him and the fact you stayed the night at his house?"

_Oh crap_.

There was silence in the car.

"Thanks Em," Aria groaned. Emily swore under her breath.

"Sorry Aria, I didn't mean to say that..." But it was too late, Spencer and Hanna had already latched on.

"You spent the night _in his house_?" Spencer was practically screeching. And Aria thought her headache couldn't get any worse...

"Wait, you've been having dirty nights with Jason and you didn't tell us?" Hanna teased, wiggling her eyebrows at Aria. "Does Ezra know about this..."

"Hanna, this is not a laughing matter," Spencer stated sternly. If Spencer was going to be in this mood for the rest of the night now, Aria figured she'd rather be caught drunk by her parents than be lectured continuously. "Why the hell would you willingly go into that house? With a potential murderer, no less,"

"Ok, of that you have _no_ proof," Aria replied defensively. "And it wasn't like we were having a slumber party or anything like that,"

"Did you share a bed?"

"Hanna!"

"Ok, sorry, sorry but, on a serious note...did you tell Ezra?"

"No," Aria sighed. "Didn't see the point,"

"Didn't see the point of telling your boyfriend you spent the night with another man?" Spencer lifted an eyebrow. "You haven't even told us what you possessed you to do it in the first place,"

"It wasn't like that, ok..." Aria rested her head in her hands, feeling Emily rub her back reassuringly.

"Aria does have a valid reason," She stated comfortingly. The other two girls looked at her as an indication for her to continue. "Shall I tell them, Aria?"

Aria gave a brief nod, and Emily began to explain, albeit briefly and not as in depth as the story Aria had told her, omitting certain parts, about how Aria was mobbed by thugs on the way home and Jason saved her. The other girls looked at her in sympathy as Aria continued to stare out the window. They all looked at her as if she was the victim, but if they saw the video...saw what a monster she was...

"Oh Aria, I'm sorry," Hanna took her friend's hand, pulling up Aria's sleeve and rubbing the bruises Aria had carefully masked with make up.

"You should have told us," Spencer said, her voice having lost the hard edge it had earlier. "You could have come to my place, stayed the night..."

"I didn't want to bother any of you, I didn't want to bother anyone," Aria spoke quietly. "I only stayed the night with Jason because he already knew and wouldn't judge or question me,"

"Aria we would _never_ judge you, ok, we love you," Spencer moved her hand from the steering wheel over to her friend's shoulder. "And I'm really sorry if we, well, I, made you feel the way. I'm only ask so many questions because I'm concerned and worried about you and I love you, ok?"

"We all love you," Emily and Hanna chimed in, giving their reassurances.

"Okay, guys here's your stop," Spencer said, the car coming to a halt. The duo bid their farewells and quickly exited the car, Hanna emptying her flask into one of the bushes as she went. Aria and Spencer sat in silence for a few moments as the car started again, taking them on the 5 minute drive to Spencer's house from Hanna's.

"Do your parents know?" Spencer smiled faintly.

Aria gave a soft sigh. "No, I mean, with everything that's happening with Mike I thought it was best if they didn't have one more thing on their plates,"

She half expected Spencer to argue, to say that she'd feel better if her parents knew, but all she did was give a quiet 'OK' and continue to drive. They pulled up into the Hastings' driveway, looking at the dark empty house looming ominously above them. Aria shivered; everything in Rosewood looked slightly more sinister at night time. She cast a quick glance at the house next to them, a house she knew very well. There were no cars in the drive way, so she supposed Jason was still at the ball, thank heavens. That was one awkward run in she wanted to avoid...especially with Spencer in tow.

Because, in the current mood she was in, there was half a chance she might just kiss him again.

**/X/**

"Can you make it up the stairs?" Spencer teased, sticking out her tongue.

"I'll try but you never know, two drunk girls trying to make it up the stairs, how many make it..." Aria laughed, following her friend up. "I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere..."

"I am not drunk!"

"Aw, Spence, did you not steal even the tiniest bit of champagne..."

"No, because I'm sensible,"

Aria opened her mouth in mock outrage.

"I am sensible, I'm the sensiblest sensible person you'll ever sensibly meet..."

"Ok, now I know you're drunk," Spencer gave a whoop of laughter, pulling out a spare set of pyjamas from a cupboard. "Here, these'll fit you,"

"Thanks, Spence for letting me stay," Aria said softly, before Spencer could say anything else.

"Anytime, Aria. At least this stops you from spending another night with Jason DiLaurentis,"

Aria blushed and looked away, not answering on the pretense that she was changing into pyjamas. She was sure that if Spencer looked her directly in the eye she'd be able to tell she was hiding something.

The girls swiftly went to bed, having sent a quick text to Aria's parents explaining the situation, well, Spencer did as Aria's head was still pounding from the vodka. She was never, ever drinking again, or certainly never drinking anything Hanna provided. Spencer fell asleep much quicker than Aria, and from next to her, Aria could hear her soft snoring.

Aria just lay in bed, unable to sleep.

She wanted to say it was all because of the alcohol, but that would have been a lie. She wanted to say she was kept up with recurrent thoughts about Ezra and how to mend their relationship, but that would have been a blatant lie too.

No, all she could think about was Jason DiLaurentis and just how damn good that kiss had been.

**/X/**

Aria had rolled over and woken at 8am, blinking her eyes hastily, quite sure she'd never seen 8am on a Sunday morning. Of course Spencer wasn't next to her, having been up and about for a while now. Damn the Hastings and their efficiency. She wanted to continue to sleep but she figured she'd better go home and see her parents. They wouldn't like it if she stayed away for too long.

She borrowed one of Spencer's old t-shirts and jeans, mentally reminding herself to give them back later, and wandered down the stairs. Spencer and her mom were already assembled around the kitchen island, her mom reading the paper while Spencer was texting readily on her phone. From somewhere she could hear swearing and stern tones; she presumed Mr. Hastings was making an angry work call.

Upon hearing Aria enter, both Mrs. Hastings and Spencer looked up, greeting her with wide smiles.

"You didn't have to get up so early! You could've slept a bit longer," Spencer said warmly, getting up to pour her friend a cup of coffee.

"Thanks but I should probably get home, I, uh, need to help my mom with a couple of things around the house," Aria gave a smile. The smell of coffee was making her feel slightly nauseous anyhow.

"Aria, its no problem to us if you want to stay a bit longer," Mrs. Hasting looked up from her paper. "Peter and I will be going out soon, anyway,"

"No, I really should go home, I'll see you later Spencer?"

"Wait, do you want me to give you a lift?" Spencer asked, looking at her friend with concern.

"I think I'll walk, I could do with the fresh air," Spencer gave her a knowing look and laughed.

"Ok, I'll see you later then, yeah?"

"Bye Spence. It was nice seeing you, Mrs Hastings," Aria waved goodbye and stepped onto into the cold, new morning air. When did it get so cold in Rosewood? She shivered, and wrapped her arms around Spencer's thin t-shirt. She walked down the path before seeing a sight that stopped her dead in her tracks.

The door to the DiLaurentis house opened and out came a familiar site.

Lucy.

Aria lingered, watching as she gave her goodbyes to Jason, in an overtly affectionate manner if she said so herself, and bounded down the path with so much enthusiasm that Aria began to wonder if it wasn't chemically enhanced. How could someone be so cheerful at 8am on Sunday? What was she doing at Jason's house, anyway, this early in the morning? Had she...had she stayed the night? Something about that idea made Aria's heart grow cold. So he was going to kiss her and then spend the night with some other girl? Fine. Two can play at that game.

She tried to hide from Lucy, after that terrible advice she had given her before but alas, the girl had senses like a hound dog and cried out in delight upon spotting Aria in the distance.

"Aria? What are _you_ doing here?" She said it as if she were greeting an old friend, but something in her tone made Aria feel resentful.

"Hey," Aria muttered, trying to appear cheerful. "Oh, I just stayed the night at a friend's,"

"How wonderful!" Was it? "Listen, I just want to thank you for the advice you gave me, it really helped,"

Wait, what?

"It...helped?"

"Yeah! I played it aloof and cool like you said, and I think it really worked, we seemed to really...connect, you know, went back to his place, had coffee,"

"Wait, went back to his place? I didn't tell you to do that..."

Had her advice really worked? Had she unwittingly driven this girl into Jason's arms?

"Anyway, I'm seeing him again this weekend, so it all went well, thanks to you!"

Bugger.

"Oh that's...great," Aria knew just how unenthusiastic she sounded.

"I know, right?" Lucy smiled, those pearly whites flashing again. "I better go, places to be and all that, but it was good to see you! See you later, sweetie!"

"Um, bye!"

Sweetie? What were they, BFFs now? Did this Lucy not have any other friends that she had to imprint on Aria like a baby duck?

If Hanna could see her right now she'd tell her that Aria was only jealous of Lucy, and that was why she disliked this girl so much. But that couldn't be true, could it?

It was then Aria realized she really was in dire need of caffeine. And if it wasn't 8am on a Sunday, she'd say more alcohol too. Much more alcohol.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Once again, thanks so much for the reviews! Only 2 eps left of the first half of PLL season 2, what am I going to do for 4 months? I'm hoping that after the Jason thing is revealed next week, everyone starts seeing him for the BAMF that he is. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter and once again, give me your feedback!


	15. Reaction

Guilt, that was mainly what she felt.

(Aside from the pounding headache of course)

Turns out it didn't take A to turn Aria's life into one big mess, but Aria herself was quite good at it too.

Now she would never be able to look Jason nor Ezra in the eye again, or at least, not for a very long time. Suddenly Iceland was looking pretty good right now. And considering all that crap she had given Ezra about Jackie and how vehemently she had denied her feelings for Jason, most of all to herself. Now, he was all she could think about, like a burning image through her mind. She needed to tell someone, quick, before her thoughts accelerated into the danger zone. Why was life so confusing? And to top it all off, there was the looming presence of A in the background, like a cobra waiting to strike.

But she couldn't just sit and mope around the house all day. Her parents didn't need to cope with two wailing children. Normally in these sorts of situations, she'd turn to Ezra, and see what 'mature' pearls of wisdom he could produce. But now she couldn't, and even if she could, he could never know about this. But she had to tell _someone_. Who, though? Spencer, as much as she could handle the fact that Aria had spent the night with Jason, would probably have a mental breakdown, Emily would just give her a disappointed look and probably end up inadvertently informing Spencer, and Hanna?

Well, she'd just lord it over Aria for the rest of her life. "_Remember that time you kissed Jason DiLaurentis? Ha, what a hoot that was_!"

She needed someone who wasn't going to judge, preferably someone who was completely removed from the situation, because the last thing she needed was A knowing about this. But knowing the son of a bitch, they probably already did and was sitting somewhere, cackling evilly.

Well, two could play at that game.

Aria hated to admit it but the only way she'd ever be set free from this guilt would be if she told the truth. And she knew who to start with.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a moment?"

She'd found her mother sitting alone in the kitchen, looking pensive with a cup of coffee, browsing through the day's paper. Luckily she hadn't asked too many questions about Aria's Night Out, or managed to decipher that the slow pace at which Aria was moving wasn't due to the fact that she had just 'danced too much', but down to the fact that alcohol caused your body to ache all over.

"Sure, sweetie, what's up?"

"I need some advice...for a friend," Well, she was hardly going to tell the whole truth, was she?

Ella Montgomery raised her eyebrow in slightly disbelief but indicated for her daughter to continue.

"Go on,"

"Well my...friend has been seeing this guy for a few months and its pretty serious, but lately, there have been a few...problems and they've gotten a bit lost in the relationship, so they decided to have a 2 week break," Aria looked quickly at her mother but her expression remained neutral. "Anyway, 2 days later at a ...house party she kisses another guy, a guy she might like, but the problem is her friends don't like him and he might be seeing someone else. Plus she doesn't know what to do about it as technically she's in another relationship but she's not really sure if she wants to be in that relationship anymore,"

All while being blackmailed by a vicious psychopath who clearly had too much time on their hands but that was a casual detail that could be left out.

Aria paused for breath, realizing she had been rambling quite strongly just a bit. Her mother still looked at her blankly, a slight teasing expression in her eyes, before responding.

"So this _friend_..." Ella continued. "Does she regret kissing this guy?"

"She...doesn't know," Aria sighed, looking round the room. "She uh, knows she should regret it but I think deep down she doesn't really,"

"I see," Ella nodded. "And what do you think, Aria, personally? As her friend?"

"I...uh, I...don't know,"

"Well, you said her friends, don't like him, what do you think of him?"

"He's ok, he's...misunderstood," What was it with her mom, was she playing her own type of 20 questions. "But its not really up to me, is it?"

"Exactly," Ella stated, putting down her coffee. "Aria, you should never be in relationships that don't make you happy, because you just end up hurting yourself and the other person too. If your friend's heart isn't truly in her other relationship, if she cares about this guy, she'll let him go,"

A wave of emotion ran over Aria. She did care about Ezra, deeply, and she would never intentionally hurt him. So why keep him in a relationship that she had doubts over?

"And what about...the other guy?" She asked tentatively, trying to hide the emotion in her voice.

"Well, maybe she should just talk to him," Ella suggested, looking Aria dead in the eye. "Is it a serious girlfriend he has?"

"No, they've uh, only been on one date," But probably will go on many more, thanks to Aria and her fantastic love doctor advice.

"So, talk to him. Otherwise her worries will just eat her up. Find out how he feels,"

"Ok," Aria feigned a smile. Talk to Jason? The idea made her stomach do somersaults, a mixture of the good and bad kind. Knowing the tempestuous mood he could occasionally fall into, it was just as likely he would shut her down then shut the door in her face. What if he completely regretted it? What if the kiss just sealed in Jason's mind that Lucy was the one for him and they'd go off and have a lot of bright red headed children together? But he had kissed back; even in her drunken state she was sure of it. "I'll tell her what you said,"

"Aria, love doesn't have to be complicated. Make sure you remember that,"

Suddenly Ella looked at her in such a way that Aria swore that, if she hadn't known any better, that her mother knew. That she knew about Ezra, Jason, about all the secrets Aria had been hiding. That she knew everything. But in a flash the look was gone and Aria was left wondering if it was just her paranoid mind that had imagined it.

"I know,"

And with that she left the house, on a search for the person she needed to talk to most.

**/X/**

Aria was pretty sure she'd been standing in front of Jason's door for 10 solid minutes now. Three times had she made motions to knock but each time she chickened out. Now she was standing there awkwardly, torn between knocking on the door confidently or fleeing in terror. Both had their merits. But fleeing was her natural inclination, and who was she to go against nature?

Just as she was about to turn and walk away again, whistling innocuously as if it was something she did all the time, the door opened and she came face to face with someone she wasn't quite prepared to see.

"Aria?" Jason asked, rubbing his eyes in the harsh sunlight. "What are you doing here?"

"Um...hi," Her voice came out like a girlish squeal and she attempted to lower it. "...Hi. I was just over to say, you know, um, that, you know, well, that...that your plants are looking wonderful, what kind of fertilizer are you using?"

Her babble was simply met with a raised eyebrow.

"Right, sorry, not important, I'm not here to talk about your plants, though you know, looking good, but um, anyway, how do I say this?" She fidgeted with her nails nervously. "I'm really sorry about last night, and you know, me, uh, and you, ...anyway, it was really inappropriate of me and I'd had a few drinks, though I wasn't that drunk, I was in the right frame of mind and everything, just, you know, a bit more loose...no, wrong word, sorry, um..."

He was still silent.

"...Anyway, I just wanted to apologize because you're Ali's brother, and you kind of have a girlfriend now, and I kind of, well don't, have a boyfriend, but that's irrelevant, sorry, I'm babbling now, its just once I get nervous, or you know, worried, I start to talk and talk and talk and nothing can shut me up, well, this is one of those times..."

She was silenced with a kiss.

Damn, how would she explain this new twist to her mom?

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Once again thanks for the reviews guys! And keep 'em coming as it is what keeps me motivated. No Jason or Ezra in last week's ep! Poo!


	16. Hallucination

So, they had been standing on his porch for what Aria guessed was about 10 minutes now, silently making out.

Because apparently she was that kind of girl now.

But it was so _nice_ and his lips were so _soft_ and suddenly any thought of anyone else flew out of her mind and all she could think about was how she was here with Jason.

Making out on his porch.

_Christ_.

"Wait, stop," She broke away, partially to fan down the flames of guilt in her stomach but also just to catch some air. "What are we doing?"

There was silence for a moment.

"What do you want us to be doing, Aria?"

He looked her directly in the eye though she was finding it difficult to regain composure considering what they'd just been doing. What was she doing? Did she really want this? Could this happen while things still weren't sorted out with Ezra? God, it was all so complicated.

"Aria?"

Then she did the only sensible thing she could think of.

She bolted.

**/X/**

Well, Aria was never going to listen to her mother ever, ever again. Now she definitely wasn't going to be able to look Jason in the eye for a long long time. Nor Hanna, for that matter, who often had a super human way of telling if you were hiding a saucy make out session. She would have to find a way to market that one day.

Going home wasn't an option now, she'd no doubt take out all her frustration on her family and that was never a good idea. Plus it would be the first place either Ezra or Jason would go to look for her, not that she thought either of them were going to. Aria contemplated heading back to Spencer's but there'd probably be just more questioning there. Hanna and Emily? She wasn't even sure Hanna had even gotten up by now and Emily was probably at swim practice, or trying to coax Hanna out of bed. Aria didn't know which was worse; jumping into Rosewood's severely underheated pool and doing lengths or trying to stir the wild beast at the risk of getting your jugular ripped out.

But where she could go? She didn't really want to hang around tons of people, milling around, getting on with their lives while Aria's was slowly spiralling into chaos at her own hands. Their smug faces were just too much to handle.

So she decided to do something she hadn't done in a while.

She was going to go visit Ali.

The cemetary was in convenient walking distance from Jason's house and Aria had arrived within a matter of minutes. It was completely deserted, bar an elderly woman hovering over a grave with some pale roses in her withered hands and a very affectionate young couple loitering in the background. Aria gave a disgusted scoff at the idea of anyone coming to a graveyard on a date. Ew.

It took her a few minutes to find Ali's grave, as she'd never actually visited on her own before. Previously she had just blindly followed others, like in every other facet of her life. Someone had obviously recently visited; new flowers had been set out and one of her favourite teddy bears had been placed on the tombstone. It gave the grave an eery quality, as if time had just stood still. Aria knelt down on the earth in awkward reverence, not quite sure what to say. She sat in silence for a few moments, scanning the text on the tombstone, but it didn't tell her anything new.

'_Alison DiLaurentis; beloved daughter and sister and friend_'

Hah.

Its strange what people say about you after you've died, mused Aria. To those who didn't know her, or perhaps knew her only as an acquaintance, unaware of her reputation, she was probably Rosewood's favourite daughter. The perfect all American girl; beautiful, bright, the darling of her parents' eyes. "Isn't that DiLaurentis girl sweet? I heard she just got back from spending a whole week with her Grandma in Georgia," But to those who who had the pleasure of dealing with her, she was so much more than a cliche. She was sneaky, manipulative, and it was so in her nature she often forgot she was doing it at all. Was she a beloved 'friend' of anyone?

"Well, you were never a beloved friend of mine," Aria managed to choke out.

_Now, Aria, sweetie, you know that's a lie. _

"Shut up, you're not in my head anymore. You don't control me anymore, Ali," Aria stated, more to herself than anyone else.

_But I never really left did I?_

Aria didn't respond but the voice in her head kept on going.

_After all I'm everywhere you turn. In the people you meet, in the school you go to, in the relationships you have, in your homes...even in A. In fact, most of all in A. So you see Aria, you could never get me out of your head._

"Is it nice?" Aria blurted out, momentarily forgetting this was simply a conversation she was having with her subconscious. "Where you went?"

_Its alright, though they only have decaf up here. _

"...I miss you," Aria managed to stammer out. "You always could tell me what to do?"

_Is this about you being naughty with teacher? Because you know I'll always voice my support for that. _

"Sort of..." She trailed off. "Its just, I've started to like someone else, I mean, really like someone else,"

_Really, Aria, my brother? And here I thought you had standards._

"He's changed since you..." Since you left she wanted to add.

_Look, Aria I'll say this for the last time; people don't change don't really. You may think they have, hell, they may even think they have, but deep down, they're only the way society wants them to be. A leopard doesn't change his spots. Jason is still the same stoner loser who spent days smoking in his room, having one night stands who listened to, ugh, My Chemical Romance and genuinely loathing the very core of most people's existence. He's not going to change. _

"He has changed,"

_Oh wake up Aria and see that he never has, and never will._

"Look, I don't have to listen to you anymore, OK? You're not here anymore, and you never will be,"

Her head only responded with silence.

Well, she certainly hadn't come here to argue with her own internal version of Ali. This was no help, she was just berating herself. Hoisting herself up from the ground, she gave only last look at the tombstone below her.

"I wonder what people will say about me after I've gone," She murmured.

And before she could stop herself, Ali's voice in her head gave her a reply.

"_Aria Montgomery; Liar_"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry about the wait! I've just started school again so everything's been super duper chaotic. And maybe its too late to rant about the season finale now but still. Grrrrrr. So much build up, coming to nothing. Grrrrrrr. But thank you once again for all the reviews, you guys are fantastic, you really are!


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